


The Other Face of the Coin

by SpookySusie



Series: The Other Face of the Coin [1]
Category: Deltarune (Video Game), Underfell - Fandom, Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Alcohol, Alphyne, Cigarettes, Cops, Crimes & Criminals, Dark, Dark World, Dead Dove: Do Not Eat, Dimension Travel, Drugs, Eventual Relationships, Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, F/F, Foster Care, Friends to Lovers, Horror AND Romance, Multiverse, Post-Deltarune, Post-Graduation, Rape/Non-con Elements, Recreational Drug Use, References to Undertale Genocide Route, Reincarnation, Social Awkwardness, Underfell, Weed, i really don't want to spoil things in the tags but i like to warn people, susie has the social skills of a toothpick, underfell alphys, undyne isn't much better, yes that's a wombo combo I know
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-10
Updated: 2019-03-27
Packaged: 2019-08-21 09:50:46
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 22
Words: 45,458
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16574234
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SpookySusie/pseuds/SpookySusie
Summary: After graduating, Susie finds herself all alone in her small town she can't leave. When her girlfriend leaves her, she goes out to drown her sorrows in alcohol, only to make the strangest connection with another soul...Soon, they find themselves entangled. What are all of these fragmented memories Undyne has? What is the Dark World? And why can't Susie pull herself away from Undyne?Past Susie/Noelle, future Susie/Undyne. Not for the faint of heart. Lots of multiverse theory/connections to Undertale down the road.[The Other Face of the Coin chapter/cross-site posting masterlist!][Talk with other fans in my Discord server!]





	1. I Cope with My Girlfriend Leaving Me by Breaking Someone's Jaw

**Author's Note:**

> So before I begin, a few notes.
> 
> 1\. Susie is 22, and this is after graduation and about four years after the events of Deltarune.
> 
> 2\. Kris is away at college with their brother.
> 
> 3\. Undyne is 26.
> 
> 4\. This story is pretty dark and involves a lot of my own experiences being a delinquent and dealing with the trauma of being unwanted and foster situations. After all, people don't often think about what happens when foster kids age out, especially people like Susie.
> 
> 5\. There will definitely be smut, knowing me, but it's not the focus. I'll link the chapters here when they happen.
> 
> 6\. This cover art is pending! Whoever designs an Undyne/Susie cover art for this piece (that I like the best) will get free updates on this story! I go into more details on this on my social media, but if you have questions, feel free to message/comment/whatever you wish!
> 
> I hope you enjoy!
> 
> SpookySu
> 
>    
> [Twitter](https://twitter.com/spooky_susie)  
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**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I've edited this chapter!

“So I heard you and Noelle didn’t work out.”

“Motherfuck,” I whispered to myself, leaning back into the office chair as far as it would allow me. I wasn’t sure how to respond yet. Kris hadn’t been in town for at least a year, and not even a full twenty-four hours had passed since Noelle sprung the news on me. Hell, it had barely been a  _ few _ hours. Noelle was too much of a pussy to post anything about it, and I was still processing how I felt.

So who spilled?

“How did you find that out?” I typed back to Kris, threatening to break the keys of my poor keyboard as I typed. I really didn’t have enough money to replace it, so I gritted my teeth and tried to keep my hands steady.

“The town is full of practically twenty people. Word gets around. Besides, you’re the only lesbian couple in town. People keep up on you.” There was a pause, then their typing continued. “Or, is she not a lesbian? Heard she got pregnant.”

Oh, may the gods bless my patience and my ability to not break my keyboard. “It’s called bisexuality, Kris. You of all people should know that.” Noelle may have been a lying bitch and a coward, but I wouldn’t insult her orientation. That just wouldn’t be fair.

“I know. That’s just what the posts I’ve been seeing were speculating.”

“How come I can’t see these posts?”

“Private accounts. You think the town would have you seeing people’s darkest, deepest secrets? They’re all still afraid of you, even after graduation.”

It was a miracle that I had graduated at all, with my straight-D report card and being on first-name basis with the principal, but much to everyone’s surprise, I did, along with Kris and Noelle. Kris went off to go to their brother’s college, while Noelle stayed behind with me for the last two years to work and save money. 

Of course, that meant having a secret affair with another monster, who apparently stayed in town for Noelle’s sake, which led to Noelle being pregnant and having to break the news that she cheated and didn’t love me anymore.

A town full of pussies.

“You really should try college out,” Kris said finally. “Get out of town for a bit. Maybe you’ll make some friends. And you can always hang out with me.”

“Nah. I barely graduated. Besides, I don’t even know what I’d major in. It’s not like Gratuitous Violence and Drinking is a major.”

“You could just take classes until you figure something out.”

I snorted. “Nah. I’d rather figure myself out before I dump money into it. Besides, I’m making it through. Catti’s a good roommate. She’s quiet and minds her own damn business.” I sighed and cracked my knuckles. “Not to make this weird, but I totally miss you, dude. Wish we could have a few rounds together right now. I could use a friend.”

Kris was quiet for a bit, which they normally were, but in this case, it was deafening, even though this conversation was online. Eventually, they said, “Same.”

“In fact, I’m gonna run to QC’s for a bit. I’m probably gonna break my keyboard if I don’t blow off some steam.”

“Fair.”

I signed off then, grabbed a coat, and headed out.

It was early winter, with frost on the ground and fallen leaves. My breath caught a bit as it smelled the beginning scent of snow in the air. I stuck my hands in my pockets as I fumbled for a cigarette on the walk in effort to keep warm. A passing thought whirred through my mind for a second:  _ I wonder if I can summon cigarettes like my axe in the Dark World.  _ I’d have to explore this thought with Kris when they come back for the holidays. 

Even though it was dark out, the town’s streets were bustling, putting up lights and decorating their yards. Occasionally, they’d make eye contact with me, only to turn away and pretend not to see me.

I was used to this. 

I blew smoke at them.

Only one person, Monster Kid, who still wasn’t old enough to graduate, yelled from their tree, “You’re gonna get lung cancer!”

“Good,” I said, tossing my cigarette in their garbage can.

“Hey!”

I ignored them and continued on my way to QC’s. Snow began to fall as soon as I kicked the door open.

Catti greeted me as much as she possibly could from her phone. “Susie,” she said without looking up.

“What, you recognize the sound of my steps or something?”

“Yeah.”

I sat at the bar and asked for a Jack and Coke, mostly because it was free due to living with Catti, but also because Jack Daniels was one of my only friends, the only person who could heal a broken heart. But then, QC’s door opened again.

Noelle and her new boyfriend.

Noelle was wearing his sports jacket.

“Can you add a shot?” I begged the bartender, who stopped measuring the Jack and instead upended the bottle into the glass.

“I’m on your side,” he whispered to me. “I won’t charge you for the extra.”

I nodded my thanks and downed my drink, clearing my throat as the burn hit me. It was definitely more Jack than Coke. I didn’t have the highest alcohol tolerance in the world, so it’d hit me fast, and that was exactly what I fucking needed.

The boyfriend slid into the seat next to me. “Evening.”

“Hmm,” I said, avoiding eye contact. “Isn’t Noelle pregnant?”

“I’m just here for the fries,” she said quietly.

“Don’t you wish you could still be the one to hold her hair back when she pukes? Morning sickness is rough,” he said to me.

I grit my teeth and waved at the bartender for a refill. 

“I’ve already done that,” I said, still turning away from him. “We used to live together. We were together for over three years.”

“Yeah, I bet your foster ass loved that. Living in a nice house for once instead of whatever hole you crawled out of.”

“Please--” I heard Noelle start. She sounded like she was about to cry. I didn’t want to see it.

“It wasn’t for her house. I just wanted to support her.”

“But you didn’t, did you.” I felt him touch my shoulder with fake-reassurance, and my blood boiled.

“Don’t. Fucking. Touch. Me,” I hissed.

The bartender slid me my drink then, and I chugged it down. My vision was starting to blur, and so was my judgement (or lack thereof). 

“Or what, Susie? Will you prove to the diner how abusive you were to her?”

“I never hurt her,” I said behind my teeth. I tried to remember what my therapist had told me:  _ Just take a deep breath and count to ten… _

“Are you sure? I remember seeing bruises.”

_ One. _

“Th-that’s not for what you think…” Noelle whimpered.

_ Two. _

“Are you sure about that, Ellie?”

I could feel her tense from my seat. She hated being called Ellie.

_ Three. _

“They always seemed to hurt you, y’know. When you’d come to me after you were done with her.”

_ Fuck the counting _ .

“Listen, you piece of shit,” I slurred, throwing back my stool and grabbing the boyfriend by the stupid collar of his stupid jersey. “If you don’t shut your fucking mouth, I’ll shut it for you. I’ll break your jaw clean off so you can never speak again.”

I heard Noelle start to hiccup. “Susie--”

I looked over his shoulder. “Don’t ‘Susie’ me, you fucking traitor!” 

It came out a lot louder than I intended. The music in the diner stopped. Everyone turned.

I didn’t give a shit. 

I punched him straight in the jaw, as promised.

There was a sickening crack, a familiar, adrenaline-rushing pain in my knuckles, and the splatter of blood on the bar and in his fur.

I heard someone dialing something.

I didn’t let up.

No matter how much Noelle cried (but didn’t bother to get involved).

No matter how loud the crowd gathering around us got. 

No matter how loud the sirens got.

“I thought you were a fucking athlete, like Noelle. High school fucking varsity, right?” I spat. “What, you ain’t fighting back? Just gonna steal girlfriends instead?”

He tried to talk, but ended up gurgling blood instead.

I kicked him sharp in the ribs, thankful for my platforms and steel toed boots keeping my feet protected from the impact. 

I didn’t like to fight unfair fights.

But nothing was fair in love and war.

“YOU’RE PLAYING THE COWARD’S WAR!” I couldn’t help myself from shouting, “NOT EVEN FINISHING A FIGHT YOU START!”

He looked like he was about to speak, until I felt myself suddenly flung to the ground, knocking the wind out of me. A knee held me in place between my shoulderblades. I heard the click of a walky-talky and a woman listing off a few numbers.

Cops.

At a certain point in my career as a juvenile delinquent (to graduating to just a regular criminal), I had tried to memorize the cop codes in order to know if I was in trouble or not (and usually, I was). Eventually, I just decided they just made up the digits to sound important.

I fucking  _ hated _ cops.

I felt the all-too familiar feeling of handcuffs on my wrists, then the woman pulling me up.

I turned slightly.

I had seen her a few times before, and she was definitely someone I went out of my way to avoid.

Officer Undyne. The Chief of Police.

I felt heat rush to my cheeks, though I wasn’t sure why. I hated cops, and I hated being handcuffed more, but for some reason, Undyne’s grip on me made my heart do something strange.

Nah. Probably just the Jack.

“C’mon, kid, let’s get outta here,” she said, and escorted me out, tossing me in the back of her car.


	2. A Cop Shows Me Kindness For Once, Or Something

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Undyne surprises Susie.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So although it appears that I've taken forever to write this, I actually have two more chapters done, and if you go to my social medias, you can get more information as to how to read it!
> 
> If you can't afford to patron or anything like that, I'm running a contest! Are you an artist? Like this work? Want free updates as soon as they appear instead of waiting two chapters for the free release? Submit your design for the cover art of The Other Face of the Coin to #deltarunetheotherfaceofthecoin on Instagram, Tumblr, Twitter, and Facebook! Winner will get to be the official cover art AND get all free updates!
> 
> I'm having a commission sale that's Deltarune/Undertale-centric![More info here!](https://shutendoujiwriting.carrd.co/#sale) [Email to get a spot!](mailto:shutendoujiwriting@gmail.com)
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In my short, miserable life, I’ve become quite familiar with the back of cop cars. They’re plasticy, uncomfortable, and quite claustrophobic. I shifted around, scrunching my knees and finding a semi-comfortable angle to sit on my handcuffed hands with.

“You’re shaking the car,” Undyne complained. “Stop moving. I’m trying to help you.”

“Yes, arrest is awfully helpful.”

Undyne made a clicking noise with her tongue but didn’t respond to my comment. “Let’s just pull outta here, okay? I’ll explain in a second.”

“It’s not like I have a choice,” I grumbled, resting my head on the back of the seat.

Undyne opened her mouth to say something, but was interrupted by a voice over her walky-talky. 

“Are you bringing her in?” a somewhat-masculine sounding voice inquired.

“UGHHHHH!” Undyne complained into the speaker. “I have the situation HANDLED. That’s what I do. I handle things.”

“But--”

“I’ll be back in an hour or two. Hold the fort while I’m gone.” She then switched the walky-talky off, and tapped some settings on the laptop thing all cops have in their cars. 

She turned off GPS.

My heart fell into my stomach. “Aren’t you...arresting me?”

With a screech of tires, Undyne pulled away from the diner, up the road. Once we were away from the town to the point it began to look small surrounded by its sad-looking pine trees, she said, “Okay. No, I’m not actually arresting you. But I had to pacify you so you didn’t cause more damage.” She looked up at me through the rearview mirror. “I understand why you did what you did. Hell, I would’ve done the same. But I gotta maintain the peace, y’know? Can’t really having you starting barfights, as entertaining as they would be to watch.”

“I didn’t start it,” I hissed.

“I know. But you know what I mean.”

“So…” I looked out the window. “If I’m not being arrested, why did you throw the handcuffs on me?”

“To stop you from murdering Noelle’s boyfriend or anyone else.”

“Fair.” I nodded. “Where are we going?”

“My house.”

Was the car super hot? Was it the weird plastic sheets making it super humid? I saw my reflection in the frosty window and realized that no, I was just blushing. “Your...house.”

“Did I fucking stutter?” She bared her teeth slightly at that. Teeth to put mine to shame. No wonder she kept local crime at a minimum. 

“You’re taking a known criminal and violent tormenter to your house. The house of the Chief of Police.”

“Yep.”

“Why the ever loving FUCK would you do that?”

“Because!” Even though she had shouted a bit, she paused and sighed. “Look, Susie. I was a lot like you, once upon a time. Bitter. Resentful. Getting in fights. Alone. But I used that anger in me to fuel my successes later in life.” Our eyes met in the rearview mirror. I shivered slightly at the intensity of that yellow...was it even possible for eyes to be so bright? “If I was to put you away in jail, what would that do for you? Give you some time to hate me more? Make you angrier at authority? Send you further into a life of crime and fighting?” She laughed, a sharp, bitter sound. “I wouldn’t be a very good cop if I just stuck with the system.”

“That’s...nice of you?”

“I’m not trying to be nice. Just a decent person. Y’know, one that I wish I had.” She lowered her gaze. “You grew up in foster care? So did I. I ran away when I was sixteen. Dropped out of high school and went into the police force as soon as I was able. There was no justice in my life, so I figured...might as well make some, yeah?”

I had never considered cops to have anywhere near a similar background as me. I always assumed they were the rich bullies of school, the ones who fought losers like me.

So I told her exactly that.

And she did something even more unexpected.

She  _ laughed _ .

It was a sound that I figured I only liked so much because I was drunk, or maybe it was because this was the first time a cop was actually  _ nice _ to me, but it was a deep laugh. Not low, but it felt like it came from the very culmination of her being. It made my heart sing.

The way Noelle’s used to…

I clenched my jaw. Drunk or not, I wasn’t about to cry in front of a cop, let alone Undyne. 

“You okay?” she asked finally.

I shrugged. “I’m dizzy.”

“I can make some tea at my place. Should help hydrate you.”

We were on a dirt road at this point, one that rattled the car a bit. 

“But trust me,” she continued, “I know how broken hearts and...well, broken everything, really...feels. Let’s just...talk a bit, okay?”

I nodded. I still felt a lump in my throat, so I swallowed aggressively, giving it far more pain than necessary. Right when I swallowed, Undyne slammed on her breaks, right in front of her house.

I had pictured the Chief of Police to live somewhere extra (possibly fish-shaped), but it was oddly humble, a brick house overgrown with vines. Everything about it seemed unkempt, really, a place where someone hadn’t lived for decades.

She came over to my door and let me out. “Promise not to run?”

I rolled my eyes.

“I’ll take that as a yes,” she said, using the keys on her belt to uncuff me. 

I rubbed my wrists gingerly. “Cool place.”

“Thanks. I’ve had it since I first became a cop. Didn’t feel like upgrading when my pay went up.” There was that toothy, bitter laugh again. “It’d cheapen me being a warrior of justice and all that, y’know?”

I shrugged with one shoulder. “I live in a studio apartment. I’d take anything I can get.”

“Ouch. Roommates?”

“One. She doesn’t talk much. My girl--” I stopped myself. Noelle was no longer my girlfriend. “My  _ ex _ -girlfriend lived in a nice house with her parents, since her mom’s the mayor and all that. They’ve been talking about moving since her dad…” Dammit, there was that lump again.

Undyne almost put her arm around me, then hesitated. “Do you consent to being touched?”

“You’ve already suplexed me.”

Undyne grinned. “I meant a hug, wiseass.”

“Sure.”

And there it was. The fateful hug. 

I’d punched, kicked, vomited on, screamed at, and been thrown by many a cop, but never hugged by one. Hell, the last hug I had received was from Noelle, after she said she was leaving. And it was cold, despite her stupid sweater habit. 

It was so hard not to cry on Undyne. There was something so strong, so firm, so reassuring about the way she patted my back, the way her arms felt around my shoulders. She was so tall, far taller than me, so my face was kind of in a rather inappropriate place near her breasts, but if it bothered her, she didn’t say anything. 

“I’m sorry, Susie,” she said.

I made a weird gargling sound, somewhere between a groan and the attempt to not burst into tears. 

“Let’s go inside, okay?” She pulled away, but slung her arm around me. 

“Why are you being so nice to me?” I asked, even though I asked before.

“It’s called empathy, Susie.” Undyne replied as she fumbled with her keys. “After all, the only real difference between us is when I did bad shit, I didn’t get caught.” She unlocked the door and kicked it open. “C’mon inside. Let’s sober you up and talk.”


	3. I Emit Word Vomit and Actual Vomit

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Undyne is a good listener.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quick notes!  
> I changed the title! This summarizes more what the full story is going to be about, as it extends past Undyne and Susie's relationship.
> 
> I actually have two more chapters done, and if you go to my social medias, you can get more information as to how to read them!
> 
> If you can't afford to patron or anything like that, I'm running a contest! Are you an artist? Like this work? Want free updates as soon as they appear instead of waiting two chapters for the free release? Submit your design for the cover art of The Other Face of the Coin to #deltarunetheotherfaceofthecoin on Instagram, Tumblr, Twitter, and Facebook! Winner will get to be the official cover art AND get all free updates!
> 
> I'm having a commission sale that's Deltarune/Undertale-centric![More info here!](https://shutendoujiwriting.carrd.co/#sale) [Email to get a spot!](mailto:shutendoujiwriting@gmail.com)
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I wasn’t sure what I expected the inside of a cop’s house to be.

Orderly, perhaps? Expensive, because of all their government funding? Heavily armed?

Undyne’s house was only two of the three. She sure had weapons, but not guns; instead, there were various electric-blue spears decorating her walls, shimmering in the low light.

Being the epitome of intelligence I am, I said, “Cool spears.”

I would've regretted it if she hadn't grinned so wide, glowing in...was that a blacklight? “Thanks! I’ve collected many over the years. There were more, but they’re broken.” She closed the door behind us and turned on an actual light.

“How’d they break?” Dammit, Susie, dumb question. She obviously _used_ them. The spears looked like they were made of glass, though, or something fancy like that. Definitely not strong enough to last the beating that Undyne would deliver.

But instead of chiding me for asking such an idiotic question, Undyne chewed her lip in confusion. “That’s weird. I don’t remember…” Before I could ask how she doesn’t remember breaking not one, but multiple spears, she flashed me a grin. “Why don’t you have a seat on the couch? I’ll make you some tea.”

I was too dizzy to argue. I flung myself at her couch, originally planning on sitting, but ended up laying down, and it was too comfy to get up.

As I heard Undyne in the kitchen down the hall, I also heard my phone buzz in my back pocket. I switched it on.

Kris.

“Where the fuck are you? Heard you got arrested. Again.”

“I didn’t fucking get arrested,” I typed back feverishly, knowing good and well my typing skills weren’t up to par but deciding not to give a shit anyway. “I’m just staying at a cop’s house.”

The response came immediately. Was Kris worried? The string of questionmarks seemed rather worried.

“Officer Undyne stopped me from literally murdering Noelle's boyfriend at QC’s. She then brought me to her house. She’s making me tea.”

“Since when has a cop made you tea? Are you bullshitting?” Kris wasn’t normally this fast to respond.

“Undyne’s being nice. Guess she had a rough past too and thought it’d be better to hang out with me than throw me in the drunk tank. She’s probably right.”

“Good to know some cops have senses.”

I was going to respond, my thumbs already hovering over the keys, but Undyne came back in, carrying two mugs and a plate of snacks that my eyes couldn’t focus on.

“Gotta go. She’s back.”

And I shoved the phone in my back pocket.

Undyne quirked an eyebrow. “Talkin’ shit?”

“Nah. It’s just Kris.”

“Kris...Dreemurr?”

I nodded.

Her eyes glinted as she sat beside me, forcing me to be in an upright position, which made my stomach lurch. “Heard you two’ve been notorious for the last couple years.” She handed me a slightly-chipped mug. “Had a feeling you’d like this one.”

I was more of a black coffee girl than a tea one, but I took a careful sip, singing my tongue. “Golden Flower?” I asked.

“I save it for special occasions.”

“Am I a special occasion?”

She shrugged with one shoulder. “Sort of. Your body sure is having quite the party that it’ll need to recover from, and Golden Flower’s got just the stuff to heal you up.”

It _was_ helping the pounding in my head, so I nodded my thanks.

“I’m sorry if...y’know, handcuffing you and throwing you in the back of my car was a bit aggressive,” Undyne added. “Felt like I should remove you from the situation, y’know?”

“I know.”

“But hey, you really beat the shit outta him. Sometime, we should be sparring buddies.”

“Sparring buddies?”

“I got loads of spare spears. And you’ve got pain with passion. That’s something we can definitely work with! Make you quite the fierce warrior. For fun, of course!”

“For fun.” I stared into my mug of tea, remembering the days of the Dark World, the world I hadn’t seen since Kris left in the fall.

“I mean, what better way to get out all that anger and aggression to the unfairness of the world? It’s what I did.”

“I’d like that,” I decided out loud before I could stop myself.

“Really?”

I turned to see that she was beaming, her jagged teeth in the widest grin I had seen her have. “That’s great! Sometime when you’re more uh...sober, though. Took me a long time to fix the walls the last time I…”

“You...what?”

Undyne took a sip of tea. “I don’t really remember that, either. Must’ve been too drunk.” She gave me a wink.

“You sure have amnesia regarding the most interesting aspects of your life,” I noted.

“They probably weren’t that memorable. After all, there’s never a dull moment with me!” Undyne grinned wider and pumped her fist in the air before relaxing into the couch. “But enough about me. I hate talking over guests. Why don’t you...tell me about what happened?”

It took me a minute to get started talking. I was still slurred, even more so than earlier, but once the words started, they couldn’t stop falling out. I hoped to any gods listening that I made sense, especially underneath Undyne’s intimidating, golden-yellow gaze. I told her about Noelle, her affair, her pregnancy, and how he taunted me until I snapped.

Something about Undyne listening, her chin propped on her hand, elbow on the couch, ever-so-close to me, made me feel at ease. Maybe it was the tea, or maybe I still had liquid luck from the Jack. Either way, I rambled about foster care, skipping school because no one would take me, eating chalk because I didn’t have anything to eat until it became a nervous tick.

And she _listened_.

She didn’t do the thing people normally do when they know you’ve had a shitty life and go, “Oh, you poor thing,” and then try to one-up you with their shitty circumstances. She listened. Her eyes, at first, seemed glazed over, but when she sniffed, I realized she was tearing up a bit.

When I was done word vomiting, I paused for a second, because her mouth was open as though she was about to say something, but then my stomach clenched.

Not word vomit. _Actual_ vomit.

She grabbed a trash can and threw it in my face, holding my messy hair out of the way.

Just like I did with Noelle.

Just like that guy teased me about.

I gripped the can angrily, spitting out the last chunks before catching my breath. “Sorry,” I said, my voice sounding strained and far away.

“It’s okay. Why don’t you lay down?”

I didn’t argue and kinda threw myself backwards, Undyne scooting to the edge of the couch a bit.

“Thank you for...telling me all of that. I’ve always wondered about you.” She flashed me a grin. “I was a girl with a bad reputation, too.”

“Now you’re a cop. That’s hardly bad.”

“Eh.” She shrugged. “Depends on your narrative. I’m here to fight the good fight, hence why I’m taking care of you. But to be honest...mostly, I’m just bored. Nothing happens here. Tackling you was the most excitement I had since I got my position.”

“Is that why you wanna spar? Job’s boring?”

“Partially, but...I feel like there’s another reason that I can’t remember.” She took a mournful sip of tea. “It’s weird, like...I’ve experienced all these things that I can’t quite put my finger on. Or my spear on.” She grinned.

I was about to ask her more about her spears, but her phone rang.

“What do you want?” she asked without looking at the caller ID.

A pause.

“Isn’t that the fire department’s job?”

More pausing. Some nodding.

“Fine.” And she hung up. “I gotta head out for a bit. Someone’s cat got stuck in a tree. Or someone is a cat who _is_ stuck in a tree. I don’t know why they’re sending a fish monster after a cat in a tree, but here we are.” She shrugged.

“Isn’t that the fire department’s job?”

She threw her hands in the air. “THAT’S WHAT I’M SAYING!”

I struggled to sit up. “Well, if you’re leaving, I should get out of your hair.”

“NO!”

I jumped a bit. “No?”

“DON’T GET UP. STAY. Uh.” She laughed nervously, much higher-pitched than her usual laugh. “I mean...in your condition, you should just...rest, okay? The hill I live on is dangerous enough sober.”

“I’m sure I can handle it.” Right when I finished my sentence, I leaned over the trash can again and emptied my stomach.

“Sure, sure.” Her laughter grew louder. She patted my leg. “Seriously, though, you’re welcome to stay here as long as you need to recover. I have, uh...spaghetti. In the fridge.”

I crinkled an eyebrow. Spaghetti didn’t sound pleasant to throw up.

“Or whatever. If you see it, you can eat it. Don’t think I have any chalk, though…” She thought for a moment. “Oh, I should leave you my number, in case you need anything.”

I got my phone out of my back pocket, ready to put her in as “Weirdly Nice Cop Lady.” “Wait...can’t I just dial 911?”

She snorted. “No, dumbass. You’ll just get our operator.” Then she told me her number.

I shot her a text to make sure she had mine, and her phone dinged. “Awesome. I’ll be back in a bit, okay?”

I weakly waved her goodbye, then promptly passed out.

Her couch was just too damn soft.

And honestly? So was she.


	4. Loneliness Makes Me Take a Stupid Offer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Susie doesn't know what to do with Undyne's kindness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Thanksgiving, to American readers! Decided to get this up for yall before I go put myself in a food coma!
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The house was dark when I woke up.

I was confused, at first. I wasn’t in my tiny bedroom in my apartment with Catti. There was a TV on beside me, far enough away that my arm couldn’t reach, unlike my own room, and I was on a couch.

I groaned and held my head as I came to my senses. The fight. Arrest. Undyne’s house. Right.

My phone notification light was on, so I checked the messages.

“Hey punk! You were sleeping when I came back, but I wanted to tell you! It was a cat-person in a tree. Catty. Guess she said you’re her sister’s roommate. Thought you’d think that was funny!”

I snorted. I assumed it had something to do with Bratty, her neighbor. She was usually scaring her up trees. 

“But anyway. Came back with some takeout. QC’s was serving breakfast still, so I got extras for you. They’re on the table.”

I checked with my phone light. Sure enough, there was a plate of pancakes, bacon, eggs, and sausage, with a fork and a napkin next to this.

How was this woman real? Literally no one had ever invited me over to their house when I was drunk, let me sleep on their couch while they were away, and then bring me food while I was sleeping!

“You can heat it up with the microwave in the kitchen. Just know it’s a little jank and sparks sometimes. Just unplug it and plug it back in and it should be okay. Anyway, my room is in the loft upstairs if you need anything! Have a good night! And please don’t try to leave until you feel better. I can give you a ride on my way to work in the morning.

“Undyne.”

I typed back a quick thank you and added, “I hope this isn’t annoying for you at all. You don’t gotta be...doing all this.” Then I sent it. Then unsent it. Then sent it again.

Fuck. Here my hungover ass was, making an ass out of myself.

But when wasn’t I?

I sighed, rubbed my eyes, and took the food to her kitchen, careful to walk quietly over her hardwood floors. I heard gentle snoring, and looked up. There were ladder-like stairs to my right, heading to a curtained room. I assumed this was the loft Undyne slept in.

As I tried to figure out how her microwave worked, I couldn’t help but wonder if anyone else lived in this small house. Did Undyne have a husband? No, she didn’t seem like the type. A wife? Was she gay? She seemed like she could be.

My thoughts were interrupted by the microwave sparking. I cursed--a bit too loudly--then I remembered her message. 

I yanked the cord out.

The microwave sputtered, sighed, then stopped sparking.

I heard footsteps creak, and I froze. I didn’t like people sneaking up on me, and I thought Undyne was still asleep.

“I’m armed!” I called out to the hallway.

I was met with a yawn and a stretch. “I know, dumbass.”

Oh. 

“Did I wake you up?” I asked.

“Yeah. But it’s okay.” Undyne rubbed her eyes and looked at the microwave.

I plugged it back in.

It did nothing.

“UGH. Just lemme do it.”

I scooted out of the way, and Undyne punched it, right on top.

It came back to life. I had thirty seconds remaining on my food.

“There.” Satisfied, she stretched, then went over to her fridge.

I leaned against the counter. “I hope I’m not...being a bother. I mean, I’m not normally one to really care, but…” Ugh, I was rambling again. Why did she make me so nervous? Why was her house so warm? Sweating, I continued. “I didn’t expect you to be so nice.”

She dug out some leftovers of what looked like her own takeout, took my food out of the microwave, and slipped hers in. “Eat.”

I took a bite. QC’s was always good, but I started to feel the life come back to me, despite the throbbing in my head. 

“Well,” she continued, “The way I see it, there’s a handful of things that could’ve happened. I could’ve arrested you, and you’d be in jail right now, puking with the rest of the drunks. Or, you could’ve gone home with no one but Catti to take care of you.” She put a hand on my shoulder, and I flinched, so she backed off immediately. “Sorry. Or, you could be under someone’s supervision, and maybe make a friend.”

My heart hammered in my ears. “Friend?”

“Yeah.” Her food dinged, and she gave it a test bite before taking it out. “And honestly? I’d like one, too.”

I frowned. “Please. You’ve gotta be popular.”

She emitted a sharp coughing sound, a bitter laugh. “I think I’m a bit much for this tiny town.”

“How so?”

“Same way as you.” Undyne suddenly seemed really fascinated with her breakfast food. “Like I said before, we’re a lot alike. People think I’m too brash and loud. This town seems to like...simple, y’know?” She took a mournful forkful of pancake. 

“Then we should leave.”

“I wish it’d be that easy.” Undyne looked back up at me and gave me an apologetic smile. “I got really lucky with my job, but in a big city…”

“Yeah. Guess I’m kinda stuck here too.”

“How’ve you been managing?”

It was at that moment I realized, with horror, the first friend I was making since Kris was a cop. I couldn’t just tell her that I was selling weed and pills. And other things, when necessary.

“This and that,” I decided, giving her a halfhearted shrug.

“You’re a dealer.”

I froze. How did she know?

“I know, I know. How do I know, right?” She set her food on the counter and began to pace. “You forget that I analyze people for a living.” She smirked. “And the only difference between you and me? I didn’t get caught.”

And there it was. The criminal record, hanging over my head, keeping me from getting any job. Keeping me in the same cycle that my mother had before me, that her mother had before her, and so on. Truly, a foster family of nobodies.

“You used to…”

“And one point. I was still a kid, so it got wiped when I became of age. But believe it or not, I spent my fair share of time in juvie, too. I was...quite the wrecking ball of a kid, desperate for a way out. But when I moved out here, it wasn’t like the police force could really be picky. They overlooked my rough past and, liking my energy, trained me up. And here I am.”

We ate in silence for a bit. I had a hard time picturing Undyne as a juvenile delinquent, but then again, I guess everyone else around me grew up at some point, going off to college or having a bigger and brighter future somewhere that wasn’t here. My throat closed up.

“Y’know...I could train you, too.”

I choked on my sausage. “Train? Me?”

“Well, yeah. You’ve got a lot of insight to the criminal side of this town. You’re spunky, witty, and you’d be fun to share the road with. And...I think you really need help changing your path. I managed to be determined enough of a runaway to find my way, but...I realize some people need help.” 

I chewed my bacon and didn’t say anything. My heart felt...strange. Strangled. An unusual ache I wasn’t used to. 

“Why would you...help me?”

“Weren’t you listening? I already told you!” Undyne huffed. “Well, the proposal is there. Think about it tonight, okay? I can drop you off at home tomorrow or...if you wanna tag along with me, I can teach you stuff. If you’d like.”

“Oh, what the hell. Sure. I’d like to beat the shit outta bad guys. Or any guys, really.”

Undyne laughed and patted my head. “Me too, Susie. Me fucking too.” She put her plate in the sink and yawned. “Well...I figured it’d take more to convince you, but I’ll take it. I should get back to bed. See you in the morning!” With a salute, she headed back upstairs.

I finished my breakfast, almost more confused than before. As straightforward and trustworthy as Undyne seemed, I kept getting the sneaking suspicion that there was more to the story, an agenda.

But maybe that was just the trauma talking.

Either way, I’d take her friendship. 

I sure could use one.


	5. I Burn Off My Hangover, Literally

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Undyne shows even more kindness toward Susie.
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I hated waking up in the morning on a good day, but when Undyne rattled me awake at gods know when, I felt as though Death Herself warmed over.

“Nnnnnnnnnn,” I complained, rolling away from her.

“Do you wanna stay in the same rut as your family?”

I sighed. “I don’t have a family, Undyne.”

“Exactly. So get up.”

I yawned and forced myself to sit up, the light streaming in from the windows making the pounding in my skull even worse, as though a smaller me lived inside of it, taking an axe to my temples.

“Here.” Undyne thrust a fish-shaped mug of...something...in my face.

I gave it a test sniff. I wasn’t a picky eater, but my entire essence recoiled at whatever gods-awful smell that was. It bubbled and frothed a strange shade of violet, but as the sun moved behind the clouds, the colors changed to a calmer blue.

“It’s liquid magic. It’ll help your hangover.”

I quirked an eyebrow, even though she probably couldn’t see it beneath my hair. “You’re trying to kill me.”

“I would have already. Drink that.” She leaned forward and gave me a sniff. “Yeesh. Take a shower, too. You smell like Jack and regret.”

“Wouldn’t be the first time,” I mumbled. “I don’t have a change of clothes.”

“You can borrow some of mine.”

I froze, the sickly liquid barely brushing my lips. “Hmm?”

“I said that you can borrow mine. Lemme grab you something that’s a bit small for me.” And she sprung to her feet. “Shower’s down the hall a bit to your left.”

As Undyne went to find me clothes, I plugged my nose and inhaled whatever suspicious liquid it was. Instantly, I wanted to throw up; my stomach churned, threatening to push out whatever I was putting in it. I swallowed a few times, smacked the couch, and covered my mouth to force whatever Undyne gave me to stay down. With a hiccup, my stomach settled.

I drank it too fast to taste it much, but the aftertaste was sharp and sour. I couldn’t tell if it was the drink or my stomach acid, but either way, I decided that Undyne was right and headed for the shower.

As I headed down the hall, I noticed a grand piano. I stared for a moment, debating poking a few keys, then decided against it.

I didn’t know Undyne played any instruments.

Maybe it wasn’t Undyne. Maybe the piano belonged to her partner, if she had one. I decided that, if there was a special someone in her life, it  _ had _ to be a woman. I couldn’t picture her with a man, or anything else, really. 

I pushed the strange, bitter taste out of my mouth with my tongue and headed into what I assumed was the bathroom. I wasn’t sure if the sharp flavor was jealousy at the idea of Undyne had a partner (and  _ why _ would I be jealous, in the first place?) or the flavor of the hangover cure, but it felt like a combination of the two.

The bathroom seemed a bit self-indulgent and aquatic themed. Everything was fish-related; the soap dispensers, the shower curtain, even the towels.

Undyne sure seemed proud of what she was.

Wondering if she could actually breathe under water, I decided to test out the bathtub. I  _ hated _ using unfamiliar showers, especially since, as a foster kid, most showers were quite unfamiliar. They always felt like puzzles, figuring out which exact notch between molten lava and arctic ice. Once I was somewhat satisfied with settling for scalding my skin off, I stepped in.

Maybe it would burn my hangover away.

Lots of hair-dye-friendly shampoo, fruity soaps, and scale-friendly products lined the shelves in the shower. As I got used to the water, I inspected them, then decided to use whatever seemed the cheapest. Didn’t want to infringe on Undyne’s shit more than I already had.

The door swung open without warning, and Undyne thundered in, running water from the sink. “I was gonna ask if it was okay that I’m in here, then I decided, fuck it, it’s my bathroom.”

“True,” I replied, trying to use small amounts of shampoo, but my hair was proving to be much thicker than I estimated. My heart was racing strangely, and with the sensation of hot water on my head, I tried to drown it out, physically.

“I left some clothes for you on the toilet. I’ve, uh...gained some weight since I had these, and they might be a bit long on you, but you seem to like your clothes a bit baggy.”

“Yeah,” I replied, “they’re comfier that way.” 

She didn’t say anything for a bit. I heard the sounds of brushing teeth, mouthwash, the sink a few times, and my heart breaking. Being not alone in the bathroom reminded me of the “good” days, back when I lived with Noelle and we’d get ready together. She always spent too long in front of the mirror, primping and preening and putting on makeup. Undyne, on the other hand, seemed to waste no time, moving as fast as possible, even though I knew her red eyelids weren’t natural.

My throat tightened. Noelle wouldn’t be in my life anymore, trying to put on makeup through the foggy mirror, complaining about her complexion.

And I hated it.

“You okay in there?” Undyne asked finally, breaking the not-silence.

I swallowed the lump, feeling it heave my chest. “I guess so. Yeah.”

“Breakups really suck,” she said, a twinge of...something I couldn’t place in her voice. Something sad.

“Are you...going through one right now?”

She emitted a sharp laugh, more like a cough. “Psh. Like anyone would be interested in me.”

The lump in my chest ached. What the fuck was  _ that  _ all about? I was heartbroken over Noelle. Was I attaching feelings to the first person who showed me kindness?

No. I couldn’t do that. Not again. Never again.

“This is a deafening silence,” Undyne commented. “What, you interested in all this?”

I choked and sputtered on my own saliva.

“I’m kidding,” she added hastily. I could hear the grin through her teeth. 

Somehow, I managed to sweat under the shower. “Oh.”

“Well anyway...I think the local ladies have decided I’m a bit much.”

“So you’re into women?” I asked, a little too quickly. Dammit, Susie. I wished Kris had actually taught me how to flirt after all.

Undyne laughed. “Of course.” Her chuckle dropped a bit. “You seem...eager. You sure you’re not interested?”

“I mean!” My voice crackled and came out a bit higher pitched than I intended. “I was just curious! It’s not very common to meet other--”

“I know. I’m just giving you a hard time,” Undyne chuckled, interrupting. I heard the snap of a rubber band, Undyne tying her hair up. “I’ll be waiting in the car for ya!”

I emitted a shuddering sigh when she departed. What was it that Undyne was getting at? Even if she was pretty and could absolutely kick my ass didn’t mean anything.

After all, wasn’t I just desperate for anyone to love me?

I decided to push these thoughts out of my mind and finish showering.  _ One step at a time, Susie. _

I finished quickly enough, dried off, and decided to investigate the clothes Undyne left out for me. It was pretty simple enough; black jeans that seemed far baggier than anything Undyne would wear--she seemed to prefer skin-tight clothing--and a band shirt of a death metal group I had no idea Undyne liked.

I thought about it as I got dressed. Of course Undyne would like metal. Deciding to ask her about it, I kicked on my boots and headed out the door.

“You have eyes,” Undyne noted.

I flushed and pushed my bangs back in my face. I had forgotten to brush my hair. I wasn’t used to having a hairbrush, anyway.

Undyne reached into the center console of her car and handed me a comb. “Here, you can hide from the world with this.”

I mumbled a thanks and actually brushed my hair for once.

Undyne started the car. “Y’know, you could, like...cut your bangs. You’re quite cute beneath all that hair.”

I was thankful that I had enough hair to hide my face so Undyne couldn’t see my blushing. No one had ever called me “cute” before. “Thanks...I guess.” Wow, was I actually stuttering?

Undyne chuckled. “You’re really not used to compliments, are you?”

I didn’t know what to say to that, so I shoved my hands in my pockets and shrugged. 

Undyne pulled out of the driveway, then asked, “I hope the shirt’s okay. I’d heard rumors about your musical tastes, but…”

“I like metal,” I admitted.

Undyne beamed. “Awesome!” Then she turned on some music. The band on the very shirt I was wearing. Undyne bounced happily to the beat, yelling over the music, “Nobody ever listens to anything with me!”

“I’ll always listen to this kinda shit!” I shouted back.

We didn’t say anything for the rest of the ride, so I enjoyed the scenery that I couldn’t see from the back of the cop car before. It had snowed overnight, covering the local pines with a pleasant white. I enjoyed this time of year a lot more back when I was with Noelle, but there was something...almost magical...about sharing this time with Undyne.

Undyne, who I had only known for less than twenty-four hours.

I wanted to ask if she felt the same way, but it felt too awkward. 

_ You’re just projecting your needs, and she’s just being a cool friend _ .

But why?

Why would  _ anyone _ want to be friends with me?

Kris was weird, so that made sense. And Ralsei was...Ralsei. Who  _ wasn’t _ friends with him?

And Lancer…

I swallowed. I hadn’t seen him in a while, after I promised Kris not to go to the Dark World without them. I hoped he was okay still, being a Child King and all that.

I guess he wasn’t much of a child anymore, was he?

My thoughts were interrupted by Undyne pulling into the police station and shutting off the music. “You okay?”

“Yeah.”

She patted my head, then got out. I followed, but was quickly interrupted by someone running out of the police station.

“YOU’RE LATE!” he shouted at Undyne.

“What else is new?” she retorted.

The monster turned to me, frowning. “What’s  _ that _ doing here? Isn’t Susan still on parole?”

“Don’t call me Susan,” I mumbled.

“No,” Undyne said, “she’s my assistant. My trainee.”

I watched the monster go through all stages of grief for a moment, before he finally growled, “Well, just come in, okay? It’s really important. And we’re all in trouble.”

 


	6. Don’t Call Me Susan

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There is an emergency at Undyne's work.
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“Aren’t you supposed to train me before I follow you back here?”

Undyne was a hard person to keep up with, especially under emergency, because her legs were so long and she moved so quickly, but I managed to keep up (albeit panting behind her). We had zoomed past a sign saying “Restricted Area” and a keycard before my heart started pounding in my ears, my blood telling me that I shouldn’t be back here.

I normally didn’t care where I should and shouldn’t be. If I cared, I wouldn’t have had a truancy officer. But something inside me felt...wrong, somehow. Like I was violating a space.

Like I was unwelcome.

But even beyond that, something in general felt off, too. During the drive Undyne and I had, there weren’t any pedestrians, not even kids on their way to school. I’d been to the police station enough times in my life that it wasn’t normally quiet, but aside from the eerie buzzing, it was almost radio silent.

Just what was this emergency?

“I’m going to be throwing a lot of information at you, Undyne,” the monster who had “greeted” us earlier said.

“I’m sure I can handle it,” Undyne said behind her teeth.

“Um,” I added helpfully.

“On site training!” Undyne said with a grin, yanking me forward by the collar of my shirt.

_ Her _ shirt.

“Last night, when you were busy with... _ Susan _ \--”

“Don’t call me Susan.”

“...yes, well, we got this call.”

Undyne made herself a cup of coffee at the table behind us and swallowed some, despite the steam coming out of it. “I’m sure you got a call or two. Some stoner thinking they’re dying or a kid coming home late, right? Or the mayor being mad because her baby pines weren’t  _ exactly _ and the _ perfect angle _ from her fucking  _ house _ and has to ask me  _ personally _ to measure the distance?”

“Wait, that happened?” I knew Mrs. Holiday fairly well--mostly because of my past relationship with Noelle--and being that she had Noelle, her sibling Dess, and me measure out the distance from the wall to the couch so everything was exactly symmetrical as the other side of the living room, it didn’t seem too far-fetched.

“Multiple times!” Undyne moaned. “Practically every year, when her baby pines start to grow, she complains that they don’t grow  _ right _ and because I’m ‘so strong’ and she’s ‘busy,’ I have to do the work for her!”

“Undyne!” the monster snapped. “Focus!”

“Right, right,” Undyne muttered into her coffee. “What was the call?”

The monster tapped a few buttons on the computer, then played a recording.

_ “911, what’s your emergency?” _

_ “It’s so dark.” _

_ “911, what’s your emergency?” _

_ “I’m stuck in a...weird place. It’s dark. And cold.” _

_ “Do you know your current address? Are you in danger?” _

_ There was a sharp screeching noise then, and the person on the other line screamed, “NO! GET BACK!” _

_ “What’s your location?” _

_ “Oh my god, its teeth--” _

_ And the recording cut. _

“The location of this call couldn’t be found. The caller didn’t hang up, either.”

Undyne set her coffee in my hands (which I almost dropped, because it was so scalding), and peered at the monitor. “The fuck do those coordinates even mean?” Turning to me, she added, “We can see their location through GPS. It’s a backup, in case people are in a position where they can’t give their location, or are too in-shock.”

I nodded and took a careful sip of her coffee to keep myself from talking. I had a horrible, distinct feeling that I knew  _ exactly _ where that call had come from, but I wasn’t sure how to put it, especially with how little trust the police department had in me.

But still, it was hard not to choke on her splenda-ridden coffee. I held it in, singeing the top layer of tissue of my tongue.

“Well? Was there a search party?”

“Yes, but...no one heard any screams or had seen anyone in danger. We’ve been searching all over town all night. There’s just one place left.”

“Where’s that?”

“The school.”

Undyne’s earfins drooped visibly, her pupils dilating. Was she remembering something? Before I could ask, she perked back up. “Well! Looks like I’ll have to check it out!”

“I can go with you,” I offered.

Undyne clapped my back, making me spill the scalding coffee all over the floor. “Brilliant idea! Talk about onsite training!”

I mumbled something incoherent while the other monster scrambled for paper towels, muttering something under his breath about rowdy women. 

“Oh, what’s a coffee spill on a day like this! Something  _ finally _ exciting happened in this town! C’mon, Susie!”

The monster put his arm between us, keeping Undyne from yanking me away from the coffee mess and out the door. “Undyne, please. Someone got hurt. Or worse…”

“I know!” She was practically bouncing at this point, hopping from foot to foot. “Nothing this big has ever happened in this town! This is what I’ve been training for!”

The monster sighed. “Maybe it’s for the best that the coffee spilled.”

Undyne stopped bouncing and quirked an eyebrow.

“I! I mean!” the monster waved his furry hands. “Let’s just...send you...two off?” He redirected his gaze to me. “You’re really taking Susan with you?”

“Don’t call me Susan.”

“Yes! If I’m gonna train her to be the best justice fighter, then she better watch and learn! And help!”

“Justice fighter?” I put a hand on my hip. “Aren’t you a cop?”

“Exactly! Now let’s go save some person from mysterious circumstances!” 

Before the monster could speak, she whisked me away to grab some of her police equipment (nearly too quickly for me to figure out what she even grabbed in the first place). 

“But Undyne--” the monster protested as he followed us.

“Don’t ‘but Undyne’ me! The longer we sit here and talk about it, the longer that person is in danger! And I didn’t get this job to sit and talk.” She snapped something--a handgun--to her holster. “I got this job to help people, to save those who need saved.”

“This could be really dangerous--”

“Don’t care.” She flashed me a grin. “Besides, it’s not like anything can take me or Susie out!”

And with that, we took off into the car, leaving the tracks of screeching tires and a very-tired-looking monster behind us. 

“If they haven’t checked the school, that’s probably where it is!” Undyne said excitedly. Her eyes almost appeared to flash with light, which made my heart skip a beat or five. 

“Y-yeah, I think so.”

“Do you know anything about this?”

Fuck. I couldn’t  _ not  _ tell her, especially with Undyne being so damn excited. 

“Yes,” I said slowly, avoiding those intense yellow eyes of hers.

“Wait, really?”

I swallowed. “Yeah, um. A few years ago...senior year, when Kris and I became friends, Alphys told us to go to the closet to get chalk, right?” Dammit, words were falling out of my mouth faster than I could stop them. I supposed that I really  _ was _ desperate to tell someone. 

“Oh, yeah! I remember hearing about that one. The whole town thought y’all were fucking in there.”

I made a face. “That’s gross. Anyway…”

“Come to think of it...I did bump into Kris. They said something weird about there being another world in the closet, but...it was a pretty busy day for me, since it was one of my first days with my status, and I was used to Kris being weird. I didn’t think much of it at the time, but….”

“There is, um. Another world in the closet. We started calling it the Dark World. It probably has, like, a real name, but I dunno.”

“What happened?”

“Well, we fell in. I beat a buncha people up to try to get out. It didn’t work.” I grimaced. “This...prince dude, Ralsei, told us Kris and I were prophesied to save this world, and I guess we kinda did.”

Undyne didn’t say anything for a moment, making the blood pool to my ears as my heart hammered. I felt extremely nauseous, and it wasn’t because of her driving. 

“Most people wouldn’t believe you.”

“I know. That’s why I haven’t told anyone.”

“Did you tell Noelle?”

Suddenly, the hands in my lap seemed rather fascinating. “I tried to. She never believed me. Didn’t want to go in a dark closet with me.”

“Didn’t you two date for, like, three years?”

“Yeah, well. She’s an enigma, that one. But Kris and I did go back a few times. I promised them I wouldn’t go back without them. Shit!” I pulled out my phone, shooting Kris a quick text.

“What are you doing?”

“Telling Kris I gotta break our promise. I’m many things, but I’m not a liar.”

Undyne gave me a surprisingly gentle smile. “That’s...I don’t even know what to say to that. Most people wouldn’t think to do that.”

Satisfied with my message, I slipped my phone back in my pocket. “I’m a woman of my word. And I like other people whose words mean anything to them. I didn’t really know a lot of people like that growing up.”

“A true warrior.” Undyne parked, then smacked my shoulder. “C’mon, show me this closet.”

“So, you believe me?”

“That call was fucking  _ weird _ , dude. And I’ve seen enough strange things in my life to take it seriously, especially if you of all people are telling me this.”

“Why me?”

She put both of her hands on my shoulders. Our eyes met, and I shivered. Her intensity never did drop. “Because, like you said, you’re a woman of your word. Kris, on the other hand…”

“Yeah.” I emitted a nervous laugh that sounded like a vaguely strangled wheeze. 

“Well!” Undyne dropped her hands. “After you, fellow warrior. I feel like we’re gonna be great comrades…”

 


	7. I Take an Attractive Woman into a Dark Closet

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Susie takes Undyne into a closet.  
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Even all these years later, the door to the closet was still intimidating. Perhaps it was the low light of the school, or the fact that there were only two people in this dimension in the school’s halls.

Or maybe it was Undyne beside me that made my heart race.

I tried not to dwell on it, and instead focused on how weirdly empty the place felt. _Why is it so dark, anyway? Isn’t today a school day?_ But I had to be tough for Undyne. With a clearing of my throat, I said, “If anything’s happened, it’s bound to be behind this door.”

“This is the closet?”

“The very one.”

Undyne shivered. “It does seem pretty creepy.”

A cold breeze--icier than outside, even, and it had just snowed--came from the door, and the already-dark school became nearly pitch black. I grabbed for Undyne--just to know where she was, I swear--and I felt her hand on my arm, holding me steady.

“I can’t see shit,” she complained.

“Yeah, that’s normal.” My eyes started to adjust, and I led her into the closet. I remembered how scary it was the first time Kris and I fell into the Dark World, and even though it still made my palms kinda sweaty--thank _god_ Undyne wasn’t holding my hand--it was really cool, knowing about something Undyne didn’t. She was a cop, and a hella scary one at that; it seemed like she’d know anything worth knowing about.

Something about her hanging onto me was really reassuring. I felt like a warrior, leading a fellow comrade into battle, a world of mystery and darkness.

“Guess you weren’t kidding about the Dark World. It’s really fucking dark,” she snarked as the door slammed behind us, still clutching to my arm.

“You get used to it.” I turned to where I could see the faint outline of an Undyne-like shape. “You ready?”

“For what?”

“This.”

She opened her mouth, but all that came out was a scream as the floor gave out beneath us.

The first time I had fallen in here, I screamed, too, but having gone to the Dark World so many times, the fall was the least scary part of the experience.

It was always the fucking _door_ that was the worst.

And the fall never lasted long.

Probably about ten seconds later, we crashed onto the ground of the Dark World, though the landing was quite interesting; somehow, Undyne managed to catch me as I fell, with me landing on top of her.

I blushed and quickly rolled off. “Shit, I’m heavy. Hope I didn’t break your ribs.”

Undyne laughed and stood, dusting herself off. “You make me sound so fragile.” She reached to help me stand as she eyed me up and down. “Is this, like, interdimensional closet also responsible for changing our clothes?”

“Yeah, it does that.” I adjusted one of my arm bands. “Can’t wait til you find a mirror. You look even scarier now than you normally do.”

Undyne had armor-- _real_ armor, not the sexy kind that female warriors get in video games--that covered her body, as black as the Dark World itself, almost seeming as though it lacked form. Her hair had fallen out of its ponytail, cascading over her shoulders in rivers of red, yet she had somehow found her hairtie and tied it back up.

I pushed a bit of hair out of my eyes to get a better look at her. If my hair wasn’t armor for myself for the outside world, I’d cut it off; I didn’t see the point of messing with it much, or worse, tying it up; ponytails hurt.

As I checked out her armor--and she did, too, with the best of her ability--I noticed she had a little heart on herself, pulsing a sort of blue, the same color as her skin. It seemed rather dangerous for armor to highlight her Soul, but perhaps it was only aesthetic.

“Well, this is pretty rad. So, what now?” Undyne put her hands on her hips with a clink of metal.

“We’re gonna find an old friend of mine.”

“You have friends?”

I clutched my heart in mock-pain. “Ouch, dude.” And I motioned for her to follow me.

“I didn’t mean it like that!” She waved her armored hands. “I mean, like, here. Wherever ‘here’ is.”

“I have a few. Got some fans, too.”

“Damn, I want fans. What did you do?”

“Beat em up.”

I turned a bit to see the look on Undyne’s face, and she was nodding in appreciation. “Getting fame for beating people up? Sounds rad.”

“Nah.” I put my hands in my pockets as we walked. “I mostly just beat people up ‘cause I wanted to go home. I thought they were enemies. Now everyone knows who I am, and they’re surprised I can talk.”

She nodded slowly. “Riiiiight. Well, where’s your friend?”

“He lives in Castle Town. It’s literally…a town with a castle behind it. He lives in the castle.” My stomach growled. “Shit, maybe he’s got cake…”

“Cake?”

“He likes making cake.”

We had approached Castle Town then, the blue, bioluminescent glow of the bricks in the ground welcoming. Small specks of energy flew from the ground as we stepped.

A few shops closed their windows as I walked by.

“Your fans seem afraid of you.”

“It’s important to strike fear in the hearts of your enemies.”

“IT’S THE PURPLE GIRL!” someone in the streets shrieked, running into a nearby inn.

Not everyone was so skittish, though.

“Welcome back, Lightner Hero,” a monster bowed to me in the street.

“Yeah, okay,” I used my hair to hide my blush and walked past them.

Undyne raised an eyebrow. “Hero, huh? What exactly _did_ you do here?”

“Y’know, saved the world, kinda. Though that was mostly Kris, really. I was being an ass.”

I was about to explain more, but I was interrupted by something dark and furry running up to hug me.

“SUSIE!!!!” the figure shouted, leaping into my arms.

I wasn’t tall by any stretch of the imagination, but Ralsei made me look like a fucking giant. Even now, as an adult, he retained his tiny, fuzzy goat form, though he was cloaked in shadows now, wearing his hat to cover his true light form. Even his voice was still delightfully high, just as annoyingly adorable as when we first met.

“Is this the friend?” Undyne asked.

Ralsei adjusted himself in my arms so he could look at Undyne. “O-oh. You must be Miss Undyne.”

Undyne furrowed her brows. “What, Susie’s been talking about me?”

Heat rushed to my face. “Of course not!”

“She’s telling the truth. She always does,” Ralsei noted, “even if I don’t like it! But no, I’ve--well, _we’ve_ \--been expecting you, down here.”

“We?” Undyne’s eyes widened, revealing even more of her yellow sclera. I noticed, in the glowing blue light of Castle Town that her irises were blue, the same glowing color as her surroundings, almost as though she were its living embodiment.

In fact, it looked like she matched Ralsei, too. I felt like a bit of a sore thumb, color-wise. But I flunked out of art class, so maybe I didn’t understand color that well anyway.

“Yes! Me and this scientist I’ve met. She’s waiting for you both in the castle.”

“Why? What’s going on?”

Ralsei slid out from my arms and took my hand. “Follow me to the castle dining hall! I’ll show you.”

I’d been in Ralsei’s castle a handful of times after that first fateful day, and it was always rather warm and welcoming, blue flames in the hearth to the side. It had a long table, but Ralsei, Kris, Lancer, and me were the only ones who ever sat at it, which was almost melancholic. But over the years, we became such a close family, closer than any family I ever knew.

Which means the bar for what I considered family was at the fucking ground, it was so low, but still. They mattered to me.

Today, though, there was a different group of four at that medieval table: me, Ralsei, Undyne, and what looked to be my old high school teacher.

I sat at the table, thankful to be sitting. “Alphys?” I asked.

Alphys was leaning on her hand, eyes closed.

“Oh hey, that’s the woman Kris told me to tackle,” Undyne said. She reached across Alphys and waved in front of her face. “Hey! You knew about this place?”

Aphys blinked a few times, then yawned behind her hand. “What?”

“What are you doing here?” I asked.

She rubbed her eyes, then sat up straighter, eyes wide in alarm. “Oh my god! Did I fall asleep?”

“You haven’t slept in three days, Doctor,” Ralsei said, his voice soothing, almost putting _me_ to fucking sleep. “It’s only natural. Would you like some coffee?”

“Y-yes, please, if you don’t mind.” She looked from Undyne to me. “I see they’ve made it.”

“I’ll let you three catch up while I put the kettle on,” Ralsei said with an incline of his head before departing to the kitchens.

Alphys yawned again. I noticed that she wasn’t in her usual teacher clothes, but rather, a mysteriously dusty labcoat, the Delta Rune inscribed on the breast pocket with a “Dr. Alphys” beneath it in knit cursive. The opening in the labcoat revealed some shirt with a bunch of Japanese on it, in bright colors that I wasn’t sure of.

“I didn’t know you knew about this place,” I said. “Is that why you didn’t give me and Kris detention?”

Alphys worried her lip. “Y-yeah, actually. I knew you two were needed there, so I sent you two to get the chalk. It’s kinda funny, really, your chalk-eating habit set off saving the balance between Light and Dark. I had the idea planned that I’d talk to you two in a meeting a-after school, but things kinda resolved themselves.”

“So you knew about…everything?” I asked. “The closet, the prophecy?”

“I hate prophecies.” Her lip started to bleed. “They’re the one thing I can’t...tangibly study. But nonetheless, they always come true, whether I want them to or not. B-but yeah, I did. I made this portal, after all.”

I frowned. “You made...a portal to another dimension.”

“N-not really! This isn’t a dimension, but rather, a hidden one from our current--”

“Whatever. You made a portal to another world--”

“No, S-Susie! This is the same world!”

“Let her explain,” Undyne said, holding up her hand. “I wanna know.”

Alphys’ cheeks flushed, and I felt something angry gnaw at my heart. What was that feeling? It reminded me of when I saw Noelle with her new boyfriend…

“Um, thank you, U-Undyne…”

“How did you know my name?”

“I’ll get to that, I p-promise! But um!” She fidgeted with the sleeves of her labcoat. “The Dark World is just like...the same world. Another neighborhood. It’s like...i-if you have a bathtub, it has a shower curtain, right?”

I nodded slowly. “Yeah, but what does that have--”

“It’s a metaphor. When you close the curtain, i-it doesn’t mean there’s a new room. It’s just something dividing two sections of the same room. All the closet does is o-open that curtain. Normally, our town, our world, can’t access the side of the Dark, so I made a way.”

“Why?”

“It’s all about balance,” Ralsei said, returning from the kitchen. He put his hands together, as he always did before he said something he deemed important. “Light cannot live without Dark. Life cannot Live without Death. Without polarizing aspects, things just become nothingness.” His eyes met mine. “Chaos.”

I shivered at the memories I had tried to drink away of Jevil.

Alphys nodded at Ralsei. “A-and even though the Light and Dark have been disconnected, thanks to the sealing away by Lightners, it’s still important to be checking up on both areas of the world. Like when you, Kris, and Ralsei saved the Kingdom of the Dark and it restored peace in the Dark...if no one had been keeping up on things here, this world would be destroyed.”

“Hang the fuck on,” Undyne said. “I’m really trying to keep up. What’s a Lightner?”

“You,” Alphys said, “and me and Susie. Everyone in our town. They live in the Kingdom of Light.”

“Darkners are people who live here, like me,” Ralsei added.

“Okay.” Undyne nodded slowly. “Shit, does everything in this town but me know about this?”

Alphys shook her head. “Only me, Susie, and Kris know. To keep my work here, I’ve had to swear secrecy.”

“What is your job?”

“I’m a scientist. I study what makes Souls, multiverse theory, and the travel between realities and universes and their parallels.”

“Damn,” Undyne whistled.

Alphys turned crimson. “I-I mean, it’s pretty simple, really! Nothing special.”

Undyne shifted her sitting position, leaning on the table. “So this isn’t a parallel universe?”

“No.”

“This is just…”

“A Dark part of the same world that’s covered by a curtain.”

“It’s in the shade!” Undyne beamed. “I understand it!”

“I fucking don’t,” I growled.

“Then maybe you should’ve paid attention in class,” Alphys reminded me. Then she covered her mouth. “I...I’m sorry. That wasn’t very nice of me.”

I waved her off. “I should do a lot of things I don’t do. I just didn’t realize that, y’know, it’d be important.”

“That’s okay.” Alphys sighed. “I’m not...the best teacher, and you’ve had a hard time. I really messed up, not teaching you this stuff better.”

“Well, I’m listening now,” I replied, feeling a small pang in my heart. I never really felt _bad_ for Alphys before, but seeing her sitting there, dark circles under her eyes and covered in dust, she looked almost as though she’d die any minute. She looked so miserable, so confused.

“So…” Undyne continued, still wiggling in her seat. “What does all of this have to do with things now?”

“In the last few months, things in the Dark World have been going...horribly wrong. Something here is stirring. A Time Being from another world. Didn’t you notice that the town seemed a bit...quiet this morning?”

“Yeah,” I responded, glad I could input fucking anything. “It was like...vacant.”

“It’s not vacant,” Ralsei said. “It’s asleep. Everyone in the world of the Light is asleep.”

“My subordinate wasn’t,” Undyne said. “And me and Susie are awake.”

Alphys and Ralsei exchanged looks for a moment.

“Your subordinate?” Alphys asked, mulling the words over as though she had never said them in her life.

“I’m a cop. Chief of Police. I boss around the guys and make sure they do their jobs, which really is nothing. This one’s an operator for 911, and he’s the one who told me to investigate the school. There was a call we got, really early in the morning, about someone who was scared and...something about teeth?”

Alphys’ eyes widened. “It’s happening faster than I thought.”

“What’s happening faster than you thought?” I asked.

Undyne was still deep in thought. “Come to think of it...this morning, the Station should’ve been much busier…”

“He’s one of _them_ ,” Alphys insisted, getting up from her chair, then stumbling a bit in exhaustion.

“Please sit!” Ralsei insisted. “I’ll bring your coffee.”

I cleared my throat. “If the entire town is asleep...does that mean...the Holidays…”

Ralsei’s expression softened. “Oh, Susie…”

“Not that I’m supposed to care! Just.”

Ralsei pattered his little feet over to me and gave me a hug. “I’m so sorry…I heard this morning from Kris about what happened between you two.”

“I don’t want to talk about it, alright!” I yanked myself away from him, knowing good and well I’d start crying if I felt how soft he was. “I just want to know if she’s alive.”

“You’re...wondering about the mayor’s daughter, right?” Alphys asked.

I nodded.

“The entire town is comatose,” she reminded me. “I did a check around five AM. Essentially, the town will soon freeze over, stuck in this moment in time before it's ultimately destroyed. This is the...first phase, in a way. Freezing before implosion into a singularity.” She was starting to flush a bit, talking rather fast, and I had no idea what the fuck she was saying. Eventually, my brain caught up when she said, “Which is why we need you and Undyne. Only...the problem isn’t _just_ this world. It’s all of them, every universe we exist in.”

“Don’t we only exist in one universe?”

Alphys shook her head, then sighed. “I didn’t want to explain all of this.”

There was a moment of complete silence, save for the crackling of the fire.

“Um…would you like some tea in these trying times?” Ralsei asked finally. “I’ll bring it in with Alphys’ coffee. Then we can explain everything, especially the prophecy of Life and Death.”

“I’ll take tea!” Undyne said a little too quickly. Her eyes kept searching the room as she breathed heavily. Was it anxiety? Something seemed really...off.

“Me too,” I said. “I guess we’ll have to be here for a while, anyway.”


	8. Alphys Explains Everything, But Whether or Not I Understand is Another Issue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Title says it all.  
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Tea was served, plates of Dark World food were placed before us (which was when I realized I hadn’t eaten all morning), and we sat huddled at the far end of the table.

“So, uh...when are you gonna explain stuff?”

“I’m gonna get...some n-notes,” Alphys said, scooting out of her chair and half-running out of the room.

“She takes a lot of notes,” Ralsei informed me. “She’s been preparing for you specifically. She figured you might need extra help.”

“Wow.” I rolled my eyes, regardless if Ralsei could see it. “Is she calling me stupid?”

Ralsei’s eyes widened. “N-no, Susie! Just…”

“Stubborn?” Undyne offered.

“That, too,” Ralsei agreed, “but I’m thinking your field of intelligence is very different than Alphys’. You have a lot of real-world applications for knowledge, while hers are more...theoretical. She doesn’t...get out much?”

“I think I get it,” I said, though I wasn’t completely sure. “Like, giving me examples of how her shit applies so I don’t think she’s full of shit?”

“Exactly!” Ralsei clapped his hands. “And we’re waiting for my partner to wake up, so it’ll just be another moment.”

“Partner? Kris is here?” I asked. “I thought Kris was at college.”

“Alphys made them a way to get here, so we could stay in contact.”

“That lying little skeeze!” I slammed my fist on the table, and Undyne and Ralsei jumped. “They said they wouldn’t go without me! I kept up on my promise!”

“It was recent!” Ralsei protested. “Like, last night! They wanted to tell you, but…”

I relaxed a little. “That must be why they didn’t respond.”

We heard footsteps then, and we turned toward the dining hall’s double doors. I expected to see Alphys clutching her notes, but instead, a sleepy, messy-haired Kris showed up.

“You!” I shouted, standing up and running toward them. I pulled them into a hug.

When we first came to the Dark World together, Kris was smaller than me, being a late bloomer, a scrawny little thing who rarely ate. But soon after, they hit their growth spurt, head and shoulders above me (yet still a waif of a person). Even so, they weighed probably two ounces, making it easy to pick them up in an aggressive squeeze. I felt their bones crack beneath my arms.

“Hey,” Kris said, struggling to breathe.

I set them down. “When did you get here?”

“Really early this morning. Ralsei kinda showed up in my dorm and said I had to come to the Dark World. I was going to text you, but my phone died, and he wouldn’t let me charge it.” They shook their head and laughed. “He was very insistent about me coming here, but I fell back asleep before anything happened.” They looked around. “Wait, why are you here? With a cop? What did you  _ do _ ?”

“She beat the ever-loving  _ shit _ outta someone at QC’s,” Undyne offered, helpful as ever, “but no, I’m not here to arrest her. I’m here for investigative purposes!”

Kris turned back to me. “That absolutely doesn’t help.”

Undyne cackled, then explained the  _ real _ reason she was here: investigating the late-night 911 call.

Kris nodded, gave Ralsei (who stood on a chair to reach) a peck on the lips and the snoot, then sat beside him. 

Ralsei slid them his own coffee. “This’ll help.”

Kris made a throat noise that was probably a thank-you. 

Alphys came in then, amidst a bunch of “sorrys” and the sounds of dropping papers and books.

“Do you need help, Miss Alphys?” Ralsei asked softly, scooting away from his chair and going to the door.

“I’m so sorry,” she repeated, trying to back into the door and open it, but dropping more things.

“Here.” Ralsei picked up the papers she dropped and helped her open the door. 

“Thanks. Ugh, everything’s such a m-mess, I’m sorry.”

“You don’t need to apologize,” Undyne said, voice even, almost soothing--if her voice could be soothing, which I seemed to find it. People often said she was an abrasive person, but seeing her interact with Alphys (despite the weird chest pain it gave me) and how she listened to me last night showed what a gentle soul she really was.

I knew Undyne was a sort of aquatic monster, but she really reminded me of water itself: wild as the waves in the storm, but could be still, like glass, showing you the honesty of your own reflection, whether you like it or not. Yet it was...impossibly beautiful.

_ Stop being thirsty, _ I told myself.  _ You don’t like her. She doesn’t like you. You just want to be loved again. _

But was I ever loved in the first place, or was I just an act of rebellion? Was I really just a phase of Noelle’s life, a way for her to come out of her shell and do something “bad?” 

Jokes on her, her dad  _ loved _ me.

_ Loved _ .

He was dust now, in a ceramic vase on her living room mantle. I never had anyone to back me up again, to the point I had to move out, and in with Catti.

“Susie, are you okay?” Undyne asked, reaching across the table.

“Nah,” I replied, “Just spacing out.”

“Nah?”

“I mean, yeah,” I choked on my words. “I’m fine.” I didn’t lie, never lied. I was many things; a delinquent, a criminal, the “worst mistake of Noelle’s life,” as her loving mother called it, a “shitstain” on my foster family before I aged out and lived on the streets, a dumbass, but  _ never _ a liar. I was fine. I would be fine. 

But it would hurt, for now.

I decided I should focus so Undyne would stop dismantling my Soul with her eyes, so I pushed the pain of Noelle and the destruction she caused to my insides, the sandpaper she replaced my veins with, and looked at Alphys instead.

“Um!” she said, clearing her throat and slamming the stacks of papers and books and what-have-yous on the table. “Before I begin, um...R-Ralsei! Would you like to do the honors of reading the p-prophecy? I don’t...like it much.”

“Of course!” Ralsei said, reaching beneath the papers to a dust-covered, leather-bound book.

“Yeesh,” I said, “getting the old relics out and everything, ain’t we?”

“I don’t even know where this book originated from,” Ralsei admitted, “but it came from my father, and his father, and his father before him, and his--”

“Okay, I get it, lots of dads,” I grumbled. 

“What’s the prophecy? Why is there a prophecy?” Undyne was jiggling her leg so hard she was shaking the entire table.

Kris took their coffee off the table and held it gingerly in their hands so Undyne’s shaking wouldn’t spill it.

“I don’t know why they exist, and neither does Alphys,” Ralsei replied.

“That’s why I d-don’t like them. I don’t like things I can’t...analyze.” She was sifting through her papers as she said this. “Yet...they always come true. Whoever saw all this coming r-really knew what they were t-talking about.”

There was a moment of silence before Ralsei stood on his chair.

“May I begin?”

We all nodded. Kris gave him a loving pet on the arm, and his cheeks flushed, visible even beneath his hat, his cloak of darkness.

He cleared his throat and began: 

_ At the beginning of time _

_ When monsters and humans lived as equals  _

_ There were two Souls _

_ Inside the Mountain _

_ The place that sealed away our future home _

_ Underground _

_ These Souls were _

_ The Bringer of Life _

_ And the Harbinger of Death _

_ Together, the lovers kept us at peace  _

_ Living in union _

_ Scattering their energy in the Lake _

_ And in the Core _

 

_ Until the War…  _

 

_ Life and Death protected us after _

_ Helping seal the Border _

_ With regret _

_ To shield us from the humans _

 

_ “I'll kill them all!” Lady Death declared _

_ “Once our people are strong enough _

_ “In their isolation from human trickery.” _

 

_ “We’ll bring the humans to us,”  _

_ Lady Life argued,  _

_ “Using the Souls of the sacrifices  _

_ “To shatter the Barrier _

_ “Someday, when the monsters can reason _

_ “And live among the humans once again.” _

 

_ Lady Death agreed to watch her lover’s plan _

_ “Create a vessel for yourself _

_ “To bring the human Souls to the King,  _

_ “And be a True Hero.” _

 

_ “But what of you?” _

 

_ “I will be born in another universe,  _

_ “One where we weren't sealed away,  _

_ “And raise the Armies of the Dark _

_ “When the inevitable timeline comes _

_ “Where we must fight back.” _

 

_ “Will I see you again?” _

 

_ “Of course.  _

_ “When the rivers run red  _

_ “With the Blood of Our People,  _

_ “And the Ashes dam to a flood,  _

_ “The Axe of Death will swing again _

_ “In honor of her Soul Mate _

_ “To fight for peace once again.” _

“Wow,” Undyne breathed, “That’s...kinda really cool? But what does it mean?”

“In a world parallel to this one,” Alphys began, grabbing scratch paper and scribbling what looked like half of a room, “Monsters and humans didn’t live in segregated towns like here. Instead, monsters were forced underground, beneath a mountain called Mount Ebott. This is the mountain that is prophesied to hold Life and Death.

“When Death decided to incarnate into another universe, leaving her Soul Mate, the energy of Life transferred to the Lake beside the mountain, Lake Lorelei. This is where the current living host of Lady Life Herself originated. She’s an aquatic being.” Alphys’ eyes watered for a second before she blinked a few times.

“That’s cool and all, but what does this have to do with us?”

“Haven’t you realized it? They’re Undyne and you. Life and Death, respectively.”

Undyne exchanged looks. She was frowning, her razor-sharp teeth poking beneath her upper lip in a strange emotion...dismay? Disbelief?

I chewed on a bit of the Dark Bacon that Ralsei had given us, lost in thought.  _ Lovers, huh?  _ I remembered reading a poem once, back in the days Noelle and I would hang out in the Librarby, about Life and Death being lovers, Life sending gifts to Death and Death keeping them forever, and I remembered thinking it was pretty sweet, as far as cheesy poetry went. And as entities outside of myself, it made sense for Life and Death to love one another; one couldn’t exist without the other, after all. But me being Death? Undyne being Life? 

Did that make us “destined lovers” or some shit? Seemed pretty far-fetched to me.

But I did find myself undeniably attracted to her in ways I had never felt before…

I decided to ask about something else, feeling rather small and uncomfortable in the silence. “I get the other universes thing,” I said slowly, “like, we’re in one right now...but me being a god? You’re fucking kidding.”

“Like I said, this isn’t another universe, just the dark side of one. But...I mean, you have the body of a monster. You both do. But your Souls...they’re beyond a regular monster or even a Boss Monster.”

“Boss Monster?” Undyne asked.

“A monster whose Soul can live outside of its body. You see, the Souls of regular, mortal monsters turn to dust when they die, releasing them in particles throughout the universe, living everywhere and nowhere at the same time. Boss Monsters can have their souls exist, unscattered, for a little while before ceasing to exist. While gods...their Souls leave the site of death immediately to return to their True Vessels, which means that...you two would return to your rightful places in Mount Ebott.”

“So I get that Mount Ebott has a lake, and that makes sense for Undyne, since she’s a fish. But...what’s the Core?”

“The Core is the center of the mountain, which is a dormant volcano. It’s made of fire.” Alphys made a slow smile. “And you are also made of fire, aren’t you?”

I slumped my shoulders. She had me figured out, and I  _ hated _ it.

“How did you...know that?” I tried to keep my abilities as a monster very dormant after “accidentally” burning down the house of one of my foster families.

“I’ve been researching Life and Death for a long time. Longer than you’d want to think about. It’s sort of...my life’s purpose. I’m trying to save this timeline.”

“Wait, okay, so lemme make sure I’m understanding,” Undyne said. “I’m...my body...is housing the soul of the God of Life?”

“Yes.”

“And Susie is Death?”

“Yes.”

“And we’re from a different universe?”

“Yes. Susie incarnated in this one on purpose to raise her armies of the Dark. There isn’t a Dark World in her home universe, so she had to contact one that  _ did _ . It’s also...hard for Life and Death to live together as corporeal beings. Living separately to work before reuniting is crucial.”

“So...where am I from, really?” Undyne scratched her head. “I remember weird things, like...I’ve got this spear collection, but I don’t know where they came from.”

“Well, there isn’t just one you. What you’re remembering, the spears you’re keeping, are from the other world, your other lives. After all, Death bid her time to incarnate. She waited and watched to see what Life would do. It’s not in Death’s nature to want to live, if that makes sense.”

“Living sounds like effort,” I agreed, earning a snort from Undyne. 

“Why am I remembering things from other worlds?”

“All parts of you are connected. It’s rare for an entire deity to live in one vessel, so Life, being as powerful as She is, sort of...extended herself throughout multiple Undynes. The most common result is the Captain of the Royal Guard in the world where monsters are underground. Undyne there is a boss monster. And she has died many, many times, which has made her Soul linger, creating you as a last resort. Creating you to come back and finish the job.”

“My head hurts,” I complained, setting my head on the cool table. I felt a furry hand on my back, and I closed my eyes. “This doesn’t make any sense.”

“I knew it’d be confusing,” Alphys said, a twinge of sympathy dripping from her quiet speech, “but your case is much less complicated than Undyne’s. Don’t worry, I’m getting there.

“So Undyne, in her usual timelines and universes--though there are many--has the job of protecting the underground monsters, finding humans who fall into the mountain, and delivering their Souls to the king, who will use them to shatter the barrier, releasing monsters to the human world, giving them a chance at real life again. In some universes, she was successful. In others, she befriended the last human, and they found another way out. But...there’s a world where there are...some issues, that will make all of these timelines null and void.

“You see, this... _ human _ who has entered Mount Ebott is so evil, so destructive, and has brought such world-changing calamity that no one could anticipate it. The other Alphys has been forced to watch her--” Alphys’ voice caught, and she coughed. “F-forced to watch Undyne, I mean, die several times. Hundreds of times. And she keeps trying to stop it, but this  _ thing _ always wins. This  _ thing _ gains more power each time it revives and destroys the timeline.”

“This...entity has the ability to create and destroy timelines?” Undyne asked, leaning forward.

“It started out as human, but with...Determination, which is something humans have but monsters don’t...it became something else. Something darker. Something neither human nor monster. Something that lives outside of time itself.

“This entity has become so powerful that...it’s soon going to destroy all timelines containing Life and Death. And this world is one of them. You see, the last time the last Undyne of that timeline was destroyed, she released part of her godly soul to reincarnate here, to be with Death as a call for help. This entity wants to destroy both Life and Death and make all universes its playground, a place where it can live, play, and destroy on a whim, with nothing, no laws of physics, no definitions of life or death to stop it.

“Which is why we need you.” Alphys cleared her throat. I noticed that she talked rather fast when she got going, but whenever she paused, she spent a moment sweating, looking as though she were ashamed of her voice. It was...honestly really sad. I felt a bit of pain for her.

“It’s okay,” Ralsei said finally, “Go on, Miss Alphys.”

“We need you two to...go to the world where the entity originated, and kill it forever, so time can continue as normal.” She emitted a nervous laugh. “No big deal, right?”

“Yeah, we can just walk into another universe, no big deal,” I said with a laugh, trying to sound as nervous as Alphys, but coming across as sharp and aggressive, the hard side of an axe.

“Well, I travel to other universes all the time. I’ve...invented ways to get around these physics that stop people. It’s like this.” She grabbed her piece of paper and drew a bathroom, a door, a hallway, and another room. “This Dark World is behind the curtain of this room. This bathroom, that’s this universe. This door leads to the hallway--that’s a world where this entity lives, a world in between timelines--and the room is your final destination. I’ve created a device to transfer you through this door--” She drew arrows at the bathroom door “--and to this world--” She drew an arrow to the bedroom. “That’s where you’ll be going.”

“Are you coming, too?” Undyne asked. “I mean...I don’t know how to navigate this world.”

“It’d be too complicated if I came, too, but...the other me will be there. You should go to her lab. Talk to her. And make sure no one sees you.”

“That’s gonna be  _ real _ easy,” I snorted at Ralsei, who giggled behind his hands. He knew how much I failed at sneakiness.

“I didn’t know stealth was an element,” Ralsei added. “Susie’s not exactly...subtle.”

Even Kris laughed that cute, quiet sound of theirs. 

“You have to!” Alphys shouted suddenly, slamming her hands on the table. Her voice cracked a little, betraying her high-pitched, usually quiet demeanor.

Everyone turned to her.

“Um! I’m sorry.” She sighed and sat back down. “A lot is depending on this, okay? I need you. We all...really need you to cooperate.”

“Will we be...completely alone?” I asked. “I kinda want…y’know, the few friends I have with me.”

“You can bring Kris and Ralsei.”

“Alright!” I gave Kris a fistbump and Ralsei a pat on the head.

“But most of all, you’ll have to work with your bond with Undyne. That’s what’s going to save everything.” Alphys leaned in her chair. “Any questions?”

“I’ve got one,” Undyne said, cracking her knuckles. “If it’s...this other world that’s failing, how come it’s freezing this one in time?”

“Because the...entity knows you’re here. It wants you. It won’t stop until it has destroyed everything you love.” Alphys worried her lip again. “And the worst part is? It feeds off of this destruction, this despair. I’m afraid...you have no choice but to follow it.”

“Alright. I’ll do it.” Undyne pounded her fist on the table and stood. “Even if this means my destruction, hey, what do I got to lose? We’re already losing everything, and I won’t go down without a fight. Hell, I won’t go down. I refuse. What about you, Susie?”

“It’s not like we have a choice.” I stood, too. “What do we do next?”

 


	9. Undyne Shows High Moral Standards

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tragedy strikes.  
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“It’s simple,” Alphys said. “We have to hop dimensions.”

“We?” Undyne asked.

“Well, you, Susie, Ralsei, and Kris. I have to take care of things here.” Alphys fidgeted with her claws, making tiny clicking sounds. “I’ll have to take you to the Dark Ocean, where I keep...well, our way of travel. The...device isn’t here.”

“Dark Ocean?” I asked, leaning against my hand.

“It’s just the beach, just...on this side of things. The shadow side. People are afraid of the tides, so it’s not very traveled. The perfect place to hide it.”

“What does it look like?” I pressed.

“You’ll, um...you’ll know when you see it.” Alphys managed a nervous smile.

“Is it...on the beach, or in the water?”

“In the water. I figured it’d be, uh, suitable for you, Undyne. There’s a dock, don’t worry.”

“It’s like...a boat?” I asked, furrowing my brows.

“Exactly! Just a...s-special kind of boat. You’ll travel the ocean, to the Waterfall at the end of this reality. Find the correct one, and you’ll enter the proper universe.”

“The correct...waterfall?”

“Yes,” Alphys said, sighing, as though my questions were making her impatient. “Once you find the real one--it’ll be easy, I promise, just go with your gut, Susie--climb the ladder and you’ll reach the garbage dump. Follow the signs to Hotland--it’s really close, if you take the ferry--and find the Laboratory, where my other self lives. Make sure no one sees you, or else…it’ll mess up time.”

“How do we take a ferry if we ain’t supposed to be seen?” I asked.

Alphys groaned. “The f-ferryperson is sort of...outside of time. They know these things happen s-sometimes.”

Not that anything made sense, but that sort of made sense. “Have you, like, made arrangements or something with them?”

“I tend to. Or, rather, m-my other self does.” It was then I noticed Alphys tended to stutter when talking to me specifically.

“How much time do we have?” Undyne asked, eyes narrowed.

“To leave? None. Once we’re done here, you must go.”

“No, I get that!” Undyne waved her hands. “I mean...how much time before the Time Being attacks this realm we’re going to.”

Alphys looked confused for a moment, then she smiled. “Six months before they fall into the Underground. It’ll be enough time for you to train, get accustomed to the way of life, but not so much time you’ll forget about this.” Alphys leaned on her hands. “Most likely, you’ll be living with the other Alphys, hidden from everyone, but do get to know your surroundings when people are gone. She’ll give you the details.”

I grimaced. Just as I thought, the stuttering subsided when talking to Undyne.

“So, Alphys…” I said, something clicking in my mind. “What’s your relationship with the other Undyne? The other you, I mean.”

“E-eh?!” Alphys turned crimson. Being that she appeared to be cold-blooded, I wondered how she was able to flush so much. “Th-the other m-m-m-me?”

“Yeah. The you we’ll be meeting.”

“Susie!” Ralsei touched my arm lightly, as he learned to never grab me, since I tended to jump and hit things. “Don’t push her!”

“No, I want to know.” I stood, leaning on the table, Alphys leaning away from me, averting her eyes. “Are the other Alphys and Undyne lovers?”

“Susie…” Ralsei’s tone got a little bit harsh, the first time it has in a while. Even so, his touch was full of worry, as though he wasn’t used to being annoyed.

Alphys wiped behind her glasses. “N-no, it’s okay...um…”

“Why the fuck are you  _ asking _ ?” Undyne shouted, leaning against the table toward me. 

“I notice things, okay? I noticed that she blushes whenever she looks at you. I noticed that she stutters when she talks to me specifically, but not to you. I see the way she looks at you. It just...makes sense. Either they’re a couple, or...or Alphys really likes you. Her.” I swallowed the lump in my throat.

“Wait...really?” Undyne raised an eyebrow incredulously, then looked at Alphys. “A-Alphys?”

Alphys sunk in her chair, her forehead and the top of her head the only parts of her visible. “N-no, they’re not. We’re not. U-U-Undyne would n-never be interested in someone like...me. Besides.” She sat up a little straighter. “Haven’t you two caught on? You’re Soul Mates. I would never...interrupt that.”

“Soul Mates?!” Undyne and I shouted in unison.

Undyne frowned. “People shouldn’t just...be forced to be together because of destiny or some lame bullshit like that. If you like her, then…”

“I’m going to die, Undyne.” Alphys managed a smile that looked more like pain than happiness. “You two are going to end up together. As for the other Alphys and Undyne...I’m really not sure. But I know that Alphys really, really deeply loves Undyne. I guess time will tell, right?”

“You’re going to die?” I asked, eyes widening.

“Yes. Once this world is destroyed, I’m afraid...I’ll be the first to go. The Time Being has been stalking me. Following me. They know what I’ve been working toward, and I’ve been putting off my death for far too long. But there may be hope in other timelines.”

“Alphys...you don’t even know me,” Undyne offered gently. “And you’re not going to die. You’re smart.”

“I don’t know...this version of you very well, no. But I know you in other timelines. And...you’re just like her.” Alphys stood, then. “We should...p-probably get to business,” she said. “But Undyne?”

“Yeah?”

“I’m sorry, but not even someone as smart as me can dodge...something like this. Just...remember what I’ve done, okay?”

“Of course. Of course we’ll remember! But you gotta try to live, okay? For this world. For everything.”

Alphys nodded slowly, then with more speed. “Oh. Okay. I will try, but...I can’t promise.” 

“Here.” Undyne stood.

“Eh?”

“Come here.”

Alphys slid away from the table and approached Undyne. “Y-Yes?”

Undyne kneeled, then embraced the tiny monster. “Thank you.”

Alphys’ entire body turned red. “Th-thank? For what?”

“For all that you’re doing for everyone, and what you’re living with.” Undyne pulled away a bit, her face only a breath away from Alphys. “Before you send us off...would you like me to give you a goodbye kiss?”

Alphys’ eyes widened. I couldn’t help but wonder how her glasses stayed up through all of this excitement. “Um. I mean. I mean! If you want.” Alphys looked down. “I’ve...wanted to for a long time. Kiss you, that is. Along many timelines. But it’s weird. Because! You’re supposed to be--”

“Sh.” And their lips met.

“‘Kay, I’m leaving,” I said. I took the plate of Dark Bacon and my nauseous stomach out of the dining hall, all while being chased by Ralsei and Kris.

“Wait!” Ralsei shouted. I felt his hand on my hip, and I flinched slightly before realizing how gentle and furry it was.

“What?” I asked, stopping in the threshold of the dining hall.

“Do you hear that?” he asked.

I paused to listen. Something sounded like it was cracking or breaking through a wall.

I turned. “What the fuck is that?”

Undyne pulled away from Alphys, who staggered a bit. “Is someone breaking in?”

Alphys’ eyes darkened. “It’s here. You need to leave.”

“What’s here?”

“The...entity I t-told you about.” Her cheeks were still flushed, and she still talked rather fast. “It’s here. It has come for me.”

“What do you--”

It was then I felt the ground lurch, as though the entire world had tilted. Something almost looking like a vine managed its way through the windows of the castle, shattering glass and letting in the stream of Darklight, the natural glow of the Dark World. The vine was accompanied by several others, tendrils swirling and capturing Alphys in a single grab.

“GET OUT OF HERE!” she shouted, louder than I had ever heard her scream in my life.

And the being of vines began to strangle her, silencing her with one tendril and squeezing with the other. The razor-sharp thorns on the limbs of the monster cut deep into her skin, blossoming forth blood, staining her already-dusty lab coat until her name was no longer legible.

It probably took mere seconds, but it felt like time itself stopped as we watched the life be squeezed out of her, reducing her to nothing more than dust.

There was a screeching sound behind us as the monster claimed its victim, the scientist who had fought it for so long.

“ALPHYS!” Undyne screamed. With a flick of her wrist, a spear was in her hand, as brilliant a blue as her skin.

Just like the spears in her house.

“We gotta go, Undyne!” I screamed, reaching for her to grab my hand as the castle tilted.

“I know a way to the ocean!” Ralsei shouted. “Follow me!”

And we ran, faster than we ever had before, my chest tightening as we escaped. Glass flew, followed by stones and the sounds of screeches from the vines.

“In here!” Ralsei shouted, swinging open a door.

I didn’t take the time to hesitate, but Undyne froze a bit, staring at the entity.

“I’LL DESTROY YOU FOR WHAT YOU’VE DONE!” she screamed, raising her spear. Suddenly, there were three, then five, then more than I could count, all sent for the monster’s tendrils. With a point of her fingers, they fired, pinning the monstrosity to the crumbling castle walls.

“Let’s go!” I shouted, yanking on Undyne’s armor. “You can’t spear a Time Being!”

“Maybe people just haven’t tried hard enough yet!” When she turned to me, I noticed there were tears in her eyes. But with a nod, she followed me, Kris, and Ralsei.

Ralsei had led us into a garage. It was mostly empty, save for a single car, which looked normal enough. Jet black, four seater, and a bit run down.

“Damn, Ralsei,” I panted, “you can drive?”

“No, but Kris can.”

Kris forced their driver door open and motioned for us to get in. Ralsei took the seat beside them, while Undyne and I filed in the back.

“Drive,” Ralsei said, the most direct I had ever heard him.

“What about Alphys?” Undyne asked. She was squeezing my knee, cutting off circulation as she heaved, trying not to cry. “Her ashes will just be...left there! After all she’s done!”

I wasn’t aware of it at first, but I found my hand meeting Undyne’s, interlacing our fingers for a reassuring squeeze. “I’ll...go with you. To get them.”

“Are you insane?” Ralsei squeaked. “That  _ thing _ is still in there! If you don’t get out--”

“We  _ will _ get out!” Undyne protested, kicking his seat, earning another squeak. “It’s only fair of us. She’s providing us a way to save the entire fucking universe. The least we could do is take her ashes and respect her sacrifice!”

My heart raced in my ears. Something about how Undyne honored life made me respect her more than I already had. No one I had ever seen in my life cared so much about the dead--or the things people had done before they left this world entirely.

“Fine. We’ll be out front of the castle,” Ralsei said, tears spilling onto his fur. “You  _ have _ to make it out alive, okay?” He sniffled, shivering.

“I’ll kick your ass,” Kris offered, “if you die in there, Susie.”

“If I die retrieving Alphys’ ashes,” I said, “then I deserve all the ass-kickings in the world. C’mon, Undyne.”


	10. At Least She Thinks I'm Cute

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Susie follows Undyne to retrieve Alphys' remains.  
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The monster was no longer there when we re-entered the castle. We climbed through the wreckage, through cracks in the tilted floor, through cobblestone and rubble. Undyne had a bit more trouble than I did, with her near-one-hundred-pounds of armor, so I helped her strip off the top layer of it, revealing chainmail.

“I need to modify this,” Undyne panted, “If this armor is going to be a commonly worn thing...this is really hard to breathe through.”

I looked down and noticed, through the chainmail, there were tiny, loosely-linked gaps for Undyne’s gills. It appeared that she had a shirt around the rest of her body beneath the chainmail, but on both sides of her hip and ribcage area were little gaps for gills. I had noticed gills on Undyne’s neck but never thought much about them. After all, we were monsters, and bodies tended to not be traditional; hell, even I wasn’t traditional for whatever reptilian piece of shit I was supposed to be. 

But I found them...fascinating. They were much bigger around her sides than on her neck, and there was a slight fluttering around them when she inhaled and exhaled. Her being able to breathe better made her body’s heaving slow a bit.

I couldn’t stop staring at their motion, at Undyne beginning to relax.

Then our eyes met.

“What are you doing?” she asked.

“Um!” I felt heat rush to my face. “Nothing...just. I didn’t know armor would pose a problem for you.”

“Yeah.” She frowned a bit. “Certain fabrics are hard to breathe through, and...the armor doesn’t leave any room.” She grabbed my hand and pulled me atop the rubble she was standing on. “C’mon. Let’s find her ashes.”

I followed her into the dining hall, where we first met Alphys. It was a wreck; plates and shards of glass were everywhere, in jagged pieces and small color-changing cubes alike. That long table was cracked completely in half, protruding from the shattered stone ground.

“That thing sure fucked shit up,” I noted, stepping around the shattered half of the table, which crumbled with the impact of my steps around it.

Undyne didn’t say anything, just scanned the ground, toeing through the wreckage.

I noticed a glint of the Darklight on a piece of glass, and when I pushed some of my hair out of the way, I noticed that it was a pair of glasses.

Alphys’ glasses.

All that was left behind with her death.

Well, not completely all. It sat atop a pile of ashes, piles of papers and books and a few chunks of her bloodstained labcoat remained.

“Are there any vases?” Undyne asked finally, kneeling beside the pile.

I scanned the dining hall. Usually, Ralsei kept vases of the local flowers on the table, but its destruction left only glowing petals and shards of ceramic behind.

“I’ll check the kitchen,” I said, making my way there, crushing glass beneath my boots. I heard a sniffling sound as I left.

Was Undyne crying?

The kitchen seemed virtually untouched by the destruction. Plates of leftover breakfast food and dishes were everywhere, as though Ralsei had prepared to clean up but never actually got to it. 

It was the state my living spaces were always in.

I didn’t find any vases, but I found a jar with a secure lid, so I brought that with me.

When I returned, Undyne was collapsed over the ashes, clutching Alphys’ glasses to her heart with one hand, holding herself up as tears streamed down her face, landing on the ruined ground with the most depressing wet sound.

“Are you okay?” I asked, trying to keep my normally harsh voice even.

Undyne reached for the jar and began scooping the ashes into it. She placed the glasses last, then sealed it before responding. “I’m not crying because of myself. I’m crying for her, working herself so hard like that with no one knowing how hard she worked, loving someone who wasn’t supposed to love her back.” She stood and dusted herself off, clutching the jar. “She worked so hard to save us, to save everyone, not for herself, but for life ahead of her. She knew she was going to die. And her sacrifice won’t go in vain. I’m gonna try to...to bring what’s left of her wherever we go, so she can see how she succeeds.”

It felt as though my Soul itself trembled. There was something so sincere, so deep about the way she took Alphys’ death. It reminded me of old time warriors, of legends, of something so painful and so carnal that I couldn’t place it.

But I didn’t say any of that.

Instead, we studied each other's eyes for a moment before I said, “I agree. Let’s bring her.”

“We should…” Undyne’s eyes darted around the room, the blue irises glowing on top of the golden yellow. “We should meet your friends.”

I nodded, and we headed back, with me staring at the floor to make sure I didn’t trip on any rubble. “Hey,” I said finally before I could stop the impulse of my question.

“What’s up?”

“About the...soul mates thing.”

“Oh.  _ Oh _ . Um...what about it?” 

I couldn’t see Undyne from where I was walking, as the armored monster was behind me, but I could hear a sort of...almost girlish nervousness about her, like how Noelle trembled when I first asked her out. 

“I was wondering,” I said finally, “what you thought of all that.”

“Well! Uh.” She laughed. “I mean, someone’s gotta like me, right? Being twenty-six and touch starved probably isn’t normal.”

I could feel my eyes widening, my palms sweating. Undyne was  _ touch-starved _ ?

“But at the same time,” she continued, “I don’t want to be with someone because a book somewhere says we’re meant to be. It’d be...forced, y’know? I want a relationship to happen organically. That’s real passion!” She emitted a short laugh, then paused. “At least, that’s how it would seem. It’s not like I’ve lived with enough passionate partners to know.”

I was just about to ask if Undyne had never dated before, but she continued.

“Like, yeah, I can’t deny. You’re  _ really _ fucking cute. Part of me, earlier today, wanted to just tear back the shower curtain and…” Undyne was beside me at this point, shaking her head and holding her hand in a determined fist. “I wanted you, not gonna lie. And I guess...the extent of relationships I’ve had have been incidental fits of passion. But I respect you. I respect you a lot, really. I didn’t want to make you uncomfortable, especially given...why you’re with me.” She cleared her throat. “More than anything, I want you to find happiness. And I want to support you as a friend. If the prophecy of us ends up being true along the road, then we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it.”

I nodded. “I’ve...never met someone so respectful, Undyne. Had you been anyone else…”

“Anyone else would’ve taken advantage of you drunk and not loaned you the shower in the first place. Trust me, I know. I was that girl in need once. And what I needed was someone to trust. I...wouldn’t be very trustworthy if I jumped into a relationship with a woman with a broken heart. 

“And besides,” she continued, “what do I know about you, really? You eat chalk and had a shitty life? That’s not enough to base real love off of.”

“You’re...really wise, Undyne.” I managed a small smile and turned toward her. “But you think I’m...cute? Really?”

“I’m not wise. I just have basic decency.” We made it to the garage door then, but she paused with her hand on the door. “But...yeah. Yeah, of course, I think you’re cute. I’m not fucking blind!” She looked almost irritated, her teeth gritted. “But...we should go.”

“One more thing.”

“Yeah?”

“Why did you kiss Alphys?”

“Why? Because...it was obvious that was what she wanted. And...not gonna lie, I saw the weird...thing through the window. I was giving her the last thing she wanted before she died.”

“You...you knew?”

She shrugged with one shoulder. “I had a gut feeling that was...why the weird thing was there. The Time Being, as she called it.” She looked down at the jar. “And...not gonna lie. She was pretty cute, too.”

“You have a thing for reptiles.”

She grimaced, her teeth dangerously sharp and glinting in the low light. “Just shut up and get in the car.”

I held my hands up in defense. “I will, I will. But...you’re...wow,” I said, wincing at my own stupidity. “You’re kinda really cool, Undyne. To Alphys and...to everyone, really. To me.”

Undyne’s expression softened. “I just treat people the way I wish I was treated. Really, everyone kinda shits on me. Always been that way. But...I guess it’s about time for someone to respect me the way I see them.” She pushed the door open. “After you... _ cutie _ .”

I flushed crimson and, hands in my pockets, mosied out of the main room.


	11. Lancer Joins the Party

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Susie sees an old friend.
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The drive began almost silently, as though everyone were too afraid, too traumatized to speak. I knew it was hitting me, at least; whenever I’d sit still for too long, my stomach would churn as my brain forced imagery of Alphys being strangled and squeezed to death by that... _ thing _ . I could tell it was still on Undyne’s mind, with the way she shook and held so tightly to the glass jar full of ashes that her knuckles turned white.

The ride was boring, though, with no real surroundings aside from bioluminescent flowers to distract from the trauma of what we had seen. All that lived around us was the dull rumble of the probably-dying engine, quietly-spoken directions, and rustling of Ralsei’s maps.

After a while on the road, Ralsei started singing, and almost instantly, my eyelids started drooping. There was something magical about the way he sang that fucked me up instantly, worse than my lingering hangover I was desperately trying to ignore. Eventually, I ended up nodding off on Undyne’s shoulder, and she adjusted to support my weight.

Just when I was about to drift off to dreamland, I heard the roar of an engine beside us, and I jolted up.

Undyne made a vague groaning noise, something between “Huh?” and “What?” as she sat up. I guessed she fell asleep, too, when I was laying against her.

“Is that Lancer?” Ralsei asked, finally stopping his singing. 

I turned to look out the window, then scrambled to roll it open. I’d recognize that chubby form anywhere. It definitely  _ was _ Lancer, seated atop a motorcycle. He wasn’t wearing his Spade uniform, but a leather jacket with a spade patch on the back, along with various other patches I had found him over the years of metal bands I had introduced him to.

He was growing up so well, even on a  _ real _ motorcycle, not just a bike on fire like all those years ago.

Lancer couldn’t’ve been older than sixteen now, but last time we stood side by side, he was head  _ and _ shoulders taller than me, and he almost made his bike look tiny.

“HEY, ASSHOLE!” I screamed out the window. 

He swerved. “SUSIE?” he called out.

Ralsei motioned toward his partner. “Pull over! We should say hi!”

Kris made a grunt, then motioned through the window for Lancer to slow down. Lancer nodded through his helmet, and the five of us met at the curb.

Lancer took off his helmet, revealing the dog ears that his spade cap or helmet usually hid. His fur was white, like Ralsei when he wasn’t cloaked in darkness. In fact, they almost looked similar, in some ways, but if I told Ralsei that, he’d deny it. 

“Where are you guys headed?” Lancer asked. His voice seemed to have dropped more since I last saw him a few months ago, and I wasn’t sure how that was possible, nor was I used to it; when we first met, he sounded like a kid with a bit too much helium. 

“To the Dark Beach,” Ralsei said, hopping out of the car. He then went into the explanation of everything that happened, while Kris stood behind him, wrapping their arms around his cloaked shoulders.

I watched through the window, but didn’t get involved, though I really was glad to see Lancer. It wasn’t just that I hadn’t seen him in months, but the idea of having a conversation about everything that happened really made my head spin to the point I couldn’t stand.

“It’s normal,” Undyne said finally.

I turned to look at her. She was leaning against the back of her seat, her neck bent over its leather curves. Her eyes were half-open, the slit pupils meeting mine when I turned.

“What’s normal?” I asked.

“Processing things after they happen,” she said simply. “I’m like that, too. You get caught up in the action while it’s happening, but after...it’s like you’re cemented, y’know? You realize how fucked up everything really is until it makes you sick.” She turned away, facing the car’s ceiling, and closed her eyes. 

“I just don’t get how Kris and Ralsei are so...calm about it,” I said, venom touching my voice and hitting my teeth, threatening to splash out and burn through the windows loud enough for the others to hear. “Sometimes, with shit like this...it feels like I’m the only one who’s hurting. Like...Alphys suffered and no one cares.”

Undyne picked at a hangnail without opening her eyes to look at it. “I’m guessing they had their panic during the event. We can’t really judge them for it, but I know how you feel. But hey.” She turned and pried her eyes open, accompanied with a gentle smile. “I’m here with you. And we feel Alphys’ pain.”

“No, we don’t.” I scrunched my knees on the leather seat. “No one felt Alphys’ pain. No one but Alphys died with it.”

Undyne’s eyes searched me for a moment before she spoke. “You’re...wow. You really understand death, don’t you.”

“Unfortunately.” I propped my chin on my knees. “Everyone who’s related to me is either dead from overdose, on drugs, or in prison. But...even with all of that, I never felt like people mourned the person, y’know? People never think about who’s affected the most by loss. It sure as shit isn’t them. It’s the person who died. And if you’re  _ not _ feeling pain for them, then you’re morally fucked.”

“That’s what you meant when you said you’re the only one suffering. Because you feel her loss in here.” Undyne patted my chest.

My heart began to race, but I ignored it. “Yeah. That’s exactly what I mean. But I guess we’ll all talk about it when the time comes. Or some shit like that.”

“If that time never comes,” Undyne began, raising her hand to my head to give it a pat, “you can always talk about loss with me.”

I really wanted to say more. There was that feeling in my heart again, the same feeling I had when I could tell her about foster care and Noelle on her couch. She just felt so easy to talk to, in ways I had never known someone to be previously.

But instead, I was startled by the trunk of the car opening, and Lancer throwing his bike in the back.

“I’m coming with you clowns!” he guffawed before climbing through the trunk and onto the seat between Undyne and me.

I gave him a shoulder hug. “What’s up, my dude?”

He squeezed in return. “You got shorter.”

“Shut up.”

“Who’s this?” he turned to Undyne. “Your girlfriend?”

Heat rushed to my face. “ _ NO. _ She’s helping on our mission!”

Undyne choked, laughed, and held out her hand for Lancer. “Undyne. I’m a cop on the surface world.”

“Lancer. I’m a Boy King down here.” He shook her hand. Then he turned back to me. “You don’t mind if I tag along, right?”

“‘Course not, but...what are you planning on doing?”

“I dunno, maybe not being frozen in time?” He put a hand on his heart. “My people need me!”

I rolled my eyes. “Fair.”

Ralsei and Kris got back in the car then and pulled away, back on the road.

“I’m sorry you guys had to...deal with all of that.” Lancer tucked his knees, as the back seats were a bit too small for him. “I knew Alphys, too.”

I frowned. “Did literally everyone but me know Alphys?”

“I only knew her ‘cause I know everyone who enters or exits the kingdom. And because she made the gateway for the heroes of legend. And she helped me make my bike before I was licensed.”

“The bike that was on fire?” I asked.

“The very one.”

Undyne flashed a smile. “He set his bike on fire?”

“He wasn’t old enough to drive a real motorcycle when we met.”

Undyne nodded. “Sounds legit. I would’ve done the same.” Then she furrowed her brows in thought. “I’ve probably done the same, though I don’t think it went well...I wish I remembered my life better.” She looked around the car, as if it held her lost memories, but when her eyes fell on Alphys’ ashes, her smile drooped and she went back to silence.

Lancer noticed the ashes and swallowed. “You kept her glasses?”

“Yeah,” Undyne replied, voice cracking. “I wanted her to be able to see how she saved the world and all she accomplished.”

My heart swelled to the point it felt as though it were about to burst. 

Undyne had such a heart, the very heart I thought Noelle was supposed to have.

But when I found myself thinking that, staring at her in awe, I pushed it away.  _ Mind on the mission, Susie. She doesn’t want you like that. _

“We’re almost there!” Ralsei announced to no one in particular. “Look out the window!”

Sure enough, I noticed that our surroundings were no longer near pitch black. We had left behind a cave and were now in a dark world with its own sky, an ocean made of what looked like ink to the side.

Undyne shivered. “I wanna touch it,” she whispered.

“The water?”

“Yeah. It’s been so long.” She popped her shoulders.

“We’re not going for a swim,” Ralsei reminded her.

Undyne pouted and set her head against the glass of the car window. “Dammit. At least I tried,” she said with a chuckle.

“Maybe you can dive in once we’re on the boat,” I suggested.

She turned to me, yellow-and-blue eyes lit up with their own almost eerie glow. “I would love that.”

As I watched us approach the ocean, which looked increasingly sinister the closer we got, I began to wonder something. “Lancer, do you know what’s going on with the Dark World? I mean, you mentioned being frozen in time, but...when we were there, everything seemed fine.”

“Things were fine,” he began slowly, “but then there was like this...thing. This weird monster that looked like it was made of vines?”

Undyne inhaled sharply and clutched Alphys’ ashes closer.

“But as it passed through the area, I noticed that things got...darker, that people stopped being able to move. So I hopped onto my motorcycle to outrun it. After a bit it kinda...disappeared, but no one was able to move again. So I kept going.” He shifted in the seat. “I don’t wanna...go back to that, y’know?”

“Makes sense.” I gave him a pat on the back. “Good on you for getting the fuck out of there.”

“Looks like we’ll be getting the…” Ralsei trailed off, then paused. “I can’t say that. We’re getting the  _ heck _ outta here, too!”

“Oh my god,” I muttered. Ralsei never could make himself swear.

Even Kris chuckled lightly before parking. 

“There’s only one boat here,” Undyne noted. “That must be it.” And she practically launched herself out of the car, jogging on the deck up to it.

“Wait!” I called out, chasing after her. 

I normally liked beaches, and the few fond memories of my life I had were on them, playing in the water or destroying sand castles. But this one didn’t feel so friendly, almost as though it were absorbing the life out of me.

Undyne didn’t seem to feel the same way as she expanded her arms, inhaling with her whole body. “I’ve missed this,” she said to me as I approached.

“Do you feel that?” I asked, starting to feel like I’m going insane.

“Feel what?”

“It feels...draining.”

Undyne looked rather confused. “What do you mean? I’ve never felt so alive. I feel like...I needed this.” She held the jar close to her heart and gave it a pat. “Let’s go into the boat, shall we? Maybe we’ll have more answers in there.”

I nodded and followed her up the ramp into the boat with a shiver. I trusted Undyne, but I trusted my gut more, and something felt very off. But like most things, I guessed time would tell which one was accurate.


	12. I Watch a Woman Skinny-Dip

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> (Double update? Double update!)  
> Susie watches Undyne use her abilities.  
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> I've been working so hard on this I'm dying
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Undyne made her way to the front of the boat, where the driver’s compartment was.

“Do you know what you’re doing?” I asked her.

“Absolutely fucking not!” Undyne replied, setting Alphys’ ashes on the desk area with a wheel.

I had a moment where I wondered what it was called, but with all the buttons and compasses, I instantly got tired.

I felt more people walking behind us and noticed that Lancer, Kris, and Ralsei had boarded.

“So, does anyone actually know how to drive a boat?” I asked no one in particular.

“Looks like Alphys left some notes,” Undyne commented. “Too bad I can’t fucking read her handwriting.” She clicked her tongue. “And I thought my handwriting was bad.”

I looked over Undyne’s shoulder. “Are you sure these are words? ‘Cause all I see are squiggles. Y’know, when kids are pretending to write before they know how to read?”

Undyne snorted. “I guess she is Dr. Alphys. Gotta have the doctor handwriting to go with it.”

“Maybe it’s cursive?”

“Let me try!” Ralsei offered, scampering over. He adjusted his glasses and took the note from Undyne’s hands. He frowned for a bit, furrowed his eyebrows, and hummed.

“What does it say?” Undyne asked, resting her hand on Ralsei’s head.

“Well. It’s not just bad handwriting.” He turned to look up. “It’s also not in English. It’s in the Darkner language.” He frowned in thought. “I think this means that...she intends for _me_ to drive the boat!”

“I speak Darkner, too!” Lancer retorted, bounding over to look over Ralsei’s shoulder. “But...this looks too complicated.” He patted Ralsei’s back so hard Ralsei lunged forward with a strange gut sound. “Have fun, fluffy boy.”

Ralsei turned with a smile that would melt the heart of even Lancer’s father. “Thanks, I will!” He looked back at the note. “This is all directions for how to operate the multidimensional boat. It doesn’t seem too hard. Just give me a few minutes!”

“Awesome!” Undyne patted his head. “I’m gonna go for a swim!”

I frowned and turned to her. “Wait...what?”

But Undyne was already running out of the control room, stripping down. “I’m going fucking swimming, and you can’t stop me!”

“But why?” I caught her chainmail, then immediately dropped it, not expecting it to be as heavy as it was.

“You think I’m gonna swim in armor and clothes? I won’t be able to feel the water right! If I can’t feel how the water responds, I won’t be able to figure out where I’m going in relation to the waterfall!” She chucked off more pieces of armor, revealing a tank top--Was that bulletproof?--and some sort of leather pants beneath them. “I’m not gonna help you navigate otherwise! Besides.” She paused, her hands unfastening the buckles on her top. “Do you have any idea how long its been since I’ve been in the water? I’m drying out.”

“That’s all fair,” I said, wishing I could will away the heat from my cheeks at the sight of Undyne exposing more skin, “but do you have to be naked for it?”

“Yes, that’s the point!”

“Is this...weird? For you? I mean...”

She let her top fall off, revealing a sports bra and generous abs paired with the most fantastic hips I had ever seen. I desperately wanted to touch them, so I stuffed my hands in my pockets.

“Of course it’s not weird! It’s just bodies! Everyone has one!”

“I mean, I agree with that, but…”

“But what?” A sly smile played on her lips as she took off her bra. Once it was off, she was wearing a full-faced grin, her breasts in full view. “You want to make this weird?”

My eyes widened. They were blue, like the rest of her, slowly darkening to a deep indigo the closer the areolas went to her nipples. He areolas by themselves were larger than I expected, somehow, taking up the entire lower-half of her breasts. Her body was so muscular, so large, yet her breasts seemed so soft, and I wanted so desperately to feel just how soft they were.

_Susie, stop it. You barely know her. You’re just horny and touch-starved and riding that Alphys said you’re soul mates. Which is bullshit. Calm the fuck down._

Undyne frowned. “That’s sure some silence. You okay?” She quickly shucked off her pants, despite her question.

And now, she was revealed, muscles probably sculpted by the gods molding with soft femininity, with heavily-breathing gills decorating the surface. More heat than I thought my body could generate rushed to my skin as I noticed that she shaved, leaving between her legs on full display. I felt a pang in the gut, a throbbing between my legs, and I instinctively brought my legs closer together, as though it would stop my pulse there. Escalatingly explicit images went through my head as I imagined what it would be like to crouch between her thighs and get a closer look, a feel, a taste…

“I figured out how the boat works!”

I jumped and turned to see a very-proud looking Ralsei, shed of his hat full of shadows, clutching Alphys’ notes. He wore his shadows so much that I forgot how adorable he was when his white fur was exposed.

Ralsei raised an eyebrow. “Am I...interrupting?”

“Not much!” Undyne replied.

Ralsei’s confusion didn’t fade. “Why are you naked?”

“I’m going swimming.”

“You’re going swimming.”

Undyne nodded.

“In waters that divide multiple dimensions across time and space.”

“Yep, sounds fun!”

“You could be torn to shreds.”

Undyne snorted. “Sounds like fun.”

“You might die.”

“I _won’t_ die.”

“But--”

“Fucking WATCH, Ralsei!” And she ran on the deck to the edge of the boat, raised her arms, and dived in with a minimal splash.

Ralsei sighed. “Why am I always surrounded by impulsive people?”

“Hey!” I protested.

Ralsei’s eyes widened. “Not that your, uh, willingness to do things is bad! Just...sometimes it’s hard to understand why you and Undyne and even Kris just...do things…”

“She was drying out,” I offered.

Ralsei waved for me to follow him, and we walked toward the edge of the deck.

“Hey!” Ralsei called down to the waters.

Undyne popped her head up. “What’s up?”

“I’m gonna start driving. You probably wanna be out of the way.”

She saluted. I noticed that her hands had become webbed. “I’m gonna scout on ahead. I’ll let you know if I see anything weird.”

Ralsei nodded. “That...actually would be pretty helpful! There’s supposed to be underwater cameras, but…” Ralsei checked the notes. “They appear to have been vandalized. Alphys was going to work on them, but…” He sniffed. “She never got around to it, obviously.”

“Well, you can count on me!”

“I’m gonna start.” Ralsei nodded to me. “You two can...continue with whatever you were saying.”

“Oh. Right.” I had been so distracted by Ralsei and the boat that I was grateful to have anything to stop me from explaining my attraction to Undyne.

Undyne climbed up the side of the boat slightly, her hair pushed back, black water dripping from her. “I just wanted to make sure you’re okay. You’ve been...weirdly quiet.”

“I’m fine,” I said. “Just...a lot has gone on, y’know? First, my girlfriend’s telling me she doesn’t love me anymore, then I _think_ I’m being arrested, then the cop I’ve been avoiding for like my entire time living here is _nice_ , then I find out that I’m a reincarnated god of death? Guess I’m just...processing it all. And Alphys…” I shook my head. “But to be honest, right now I’ve been mostly thinking that...you’re really pretty.” I felt the heat rush to my face again. “I hope I’m not being weird. Even if you offered to make it weird.”

Undyne’s expression softened. “No one’s...called me pretty before.”

“Maybe you haven’t stripped naked and skinny-dipped in front of enough people.”

She laughed, her shoulders creating little ripples in the water. Then she frowned. “You know I was joking, right? About making this weird? Teasing you is really fun because you make funny faces about it, but if I actually made you uncomfortable…” Her breath caught for a second. “I respect you, punk. And I’m here to be your friend.”

“I knew you were joking! I think. Just...y’know, that part of you that thinks about it anyway?”

“Susie?”

“Yeah?”

“That’s gay.”

Now it was my turn to laugh. I wished I was closer to the water so I could splash her, and for a moment, I thought about it, but then I realized she’d drag me down with her, and a part of me really didn’t want to be in the interdimensional waters.

A loud horn cut through the air, causing the boat to vibrate and Undyne to let go of the edge. “I’m gonna swim ahead!” she shouted toward me. “We’ll talk more later, okay?”

“Okay!” I called back as a flurry of blue and red disappeared under the inky waters.

Before I could think too much about how beautiful Undyne looked with her hair wet or even her revealing herself completely to me, I felt someone tap my shoulder.

I turned to see Lancer.

“What’s up?” I asked.

“Ralsei said it’s gonna be a long journey. Wanna play board games and smoke weed?”

I stood and wiped off the water from my pants, which literally just smeared everywhere and made me a little cold. Grateful to have an excuse to not think too much, I agreed. “Let’s do it.”


	13. I'm a Terrible Influence

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Susie tries to enjoy her time on a boat.  
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> OH BABY A TRIPLE????????
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As I followed Lancer to the sort of common area of the boat, I asked, “So, where’d you get the weed?”

“I didn’t,” Lancer replied. “I figured you had some.”

I groaned. Typical Lancer, always ill-prepared. “Why did you assume that?”

“‘Cause you sell it. Don’t you always have some on hand?”

I groaned louder. “Shit, did I tell you that?”

“Yeah.”

I heard Ralsei clear his throat from the control room. “Are you being a bad influence on the child, Susie?” he called out.

“No?” I replied, absolutely fucking unsure. 

“Yes,” Lancer corrected me, sticking his tongue out.

That earned him a punch in the arm.

For a moment, I thought I was still wearing Undyne’s borrowed clothes, which I had stealthily snuck a box of cigarettes in before I left, with a few joints tucked in. But then I remembered how the Dark World altered my appearance, and I wasn’t sure if things in my pocket transferred.

With a sigh of relief, I realized they did, so I opened up the pack and handed a joint to Lancer.

“Do you have a lighter?” he asked, holding the joint and waving his spare hand.

“You’re fucking useless,” I chided him, giving him a pat on the arm and motioning for him to hold the joint while I lit it.

“Are you smoking  _ weed _ on the  _ boat _ ?” Ralsei called. I heard the pitter-patter of his feet and the swish of his cloak as he approached us.

Lancer exhaled, coughed, and handed me the joint. “Shouldn’t you be, like, driving?”

“It directs itself as long as I set coordinates. Why are you doing drugs on a dimension-hopping boat?”

“What else am I supposed to do?” I asked, blowing smoke in Ralsei’s face.

He coughed and waved his hands. “Not smoke?”

“Nah. Besides, I don’t know shit about dimensions.” I handed Lancer the joint. “You want some, Prince Ralsei?”

Ralsei waved his hands. “No, no! I can’t be inebriated right now! I’m operating heavy machinery!”

I quirked an eyebrow. “I thought it drove itself.”

“I mean! It does, but I have to keep an eye on coordinates and listen to Undyne’s directions. If I smoke with you...I’ll fall asleep!”

“Wait, why would you fall asleep?” Lancer piped up, propping his face on his hand.

“Why  _ wouldn’t _ he fall asleep?” I asked, turning to Lancer. “Weed’s great for that.”

“It is?”

“Of--hang the fuck on. Have you never smoked before?”

“No.” Lancer squished his face in his hands. “I mean! I practiced with cigarettes!”

“You…” I paused. “You practiced.”

“Yeah.”

“With...cigarettes.”

“Yep! Isn’t that what you do?”

I ran my fingers through my hair. “Oh my fucking god, Lancer, it’s not the same.”

“I  _ knew _ you were being a bad influence!” Ralsei announced.

“I’m dizzy,” Lancer added to nobody in particular, leaning against his chair. 

“Where did you even get cigarettes?” I asked, remembering how hard they were to come by in the Dark World.

“You left some at my house. And when those ran out, I got some from Lesser Dad.”

I had a hard time believing that Rouxls Kaard would give Lancer cigarettes, given that my last conversation with him regarding smoking was him slapping a lit cigarette out of my hand and announcing, “THOU SHALT NOT SMOKETH,” whatever that meant. But Lancer didn’t tend to lie. I wondered how he convinced Rouxls Kaard, but a larger part of me didn’t even want to know.

“Maybe I should, uh…” I rubbed the back of my neck. “Get you some snacks or something. Some water. If this is...your first time smoking.”

“Hey Susie?” Lancer asked, leaning back in his chair.

“What.”

“If I close my eyes...can I see my brain in the back of my head?”

“That’s...that’s not how eyes work, Lancer.”

Ralsei clapped his hands. “I’m gonna get snacks!”

“Please.” I sat across from Lancer, who was still trying to see his own brain.

“Aww!” Ralsei’s face flushed, and he did a little shimmy. “You said  _ please _ !”

I groaned and hit my head against the table. “Just...get the shit.”

“On it!”

As Ralsei departed, Kris came in, stared at my almost-finished joint--which I decided to just smoke by myself, with Lancer’s lack of tolerance--and yanked it out of my hands. They took a long drag, blew smoke in my face, and then left.

They were always so strange, but whatever. 

“You’re welcome?” I said to their back.

I got a thumbs-up in return.

For a while, nothing happened. Ralsei brought some chips from the boat’s kitchen as he went over more of Alphys’ notes, which Lancer ate gleefully until he fell asleep. I decided to go visit Undyne, then, and went to the head of the boat.

“I got chips!” I called.

It took a few moments, but her wet, red head popped out of the water. “Shit, I’m hungry. There’s no life here so I can’t just eat the fish.”

I frowned. “You just...eat fish?”

“Yeah.”

“Isn’t that cannibalism?”

Undyne crossed her arms, and I noticed she was treading the water with just her legs. “No? Fish eat other fish all the  _ time _ ! But what kinda chips?”

I checked the bag. “MTT-Brand Sassy Cream and Onion?”

“Is that supposed to be...sour cream?”

“I dunno. The robot with the long legs on the bag says it’s Sassy Cream. Tastes about right, though.”

Undyne opened her mouth and pointed in it.

I threw.

She caught it and chomped happily, then swallowed. “Yep, that’s definitely sour cream!”

I threw her some chips for a while, her catching every single one with a noisy  _ crunch _ in those delightfully large teeth of hers (which I liked to watch a bit more than I liked to admit), until Undyne froze.

“We’re close,” she said. “I can feel the current changing. It’s...confusing.” She reached up. “Help me up?”

I grabbed her wet, webbed hand and helped her climb out, focusing on her hand instead of her naked, shiny self, and how her scales shimmered in the low light, how her nipples hardened upon contact to the cold air, how when she spread her legs, I could see the hint of deep blue folds…

_ Hands, Susie. Focus on her hands, not her crotch. Stop being disgusting. _

As she became accustomed to the oxygen around us, the webbing in her fingers disappeared, her hands returning to normal. I wondered if she could will them to change, but before I could ask, she spoke.

“Where’s Ralsei?”

“Over here!” Ralsei called, pattering over to us. “Is something wrong?” Unfazed by her nudity, he handed her a towel, which she wrapped around her shoulders.

I hated myself so much in that moment. Ralsei was so lucky, not being attracted to women. I wished I could’ve been fucking normal.

Undyne shivered, rubbed her arms with the towel, and said, “If you set the coordinates a bit to the left, we’ll be there.”

Another voice cleared their throat. “How do we know which waterfall it is? There’s gotta be dozens.”

I jumped slightly, not knowing Kris was there. I looked around for the source of the voice and saw Kris leaning against the command center of the boat, distorted by shadows.

They were right about the dozens of waterfalls, though. As the boat slowly went through the cavern, waterfalls upon waterfalls cascaded through the water. A part of me was relieved Undyne got out of the water, for I figured she’d be destroyed by the sheer power of them, no matter how strong she was. They shimmered different blues and yellows as the water cascaded, sprinkling me with multicolored water. I shivered, wishing I had my own towel. I hated cold water.

“It’s the one on the far left, furthest back.”

“How do you know that?” Ralsei asked, eyes wide behind his blue lenses.

Undyne shrugged. “I mean, Alphys did say I’d know the way. And she’s right. I’m pretty good with direction when I’m in the water normally, but...this feels different. Like a tingling? It’s like part of me just remembers where it is.”

“That’s...kinda fucking cool,” I commented.

“Right?” Undyne grinned. “Anyway, it’s like...a deep blue. You can’t miss it.”

I frowned and looked at the waterfalls. “But...aren’t they mostly blue? ‘Cept that yellow one.”

The three of them stared at me for a moment.

“You’re kidding, right?” Undyne said. “They’re...that one’s forest green. That one’s a dull red. Lime green.” Undyne frowned. “None of them are yellow, Susie.”

“Fuck,” I muttered. “I’ve always been bad at colors. I failed art,” I added with something between an embarrassed cough and a laugh.

“Susie...what color are my glasses?” Ralsei asked.

“Blue, like toothpaste. That’s why you’re toothpaste boy.”

“Toothpaste isn’t blue,” Kris threw in. “Do you think...all of us are blue?”

“Yeah?”

“What color are you?” they pressed.

“I don’t fucking know anymore!” I threw my hands up in the air. “Why are y’all asking me stupid questions?”

“Susie...are you colorblind?” Ralsei asked, putting a fuzzy hand in mine. “My glasses are green. Undyne’s Soul is green, and it was engraved on her armor earlier. Kris has blue skin in the dark world. Undyne is always blue. My cloak is green.”

I didn’t know what to say to that. “I thought I was just stupid.”

“You’re not stupid, Susie,” Undyne offered gently, taking my other hand. Heat immediately rushed up my arm and to my cheeks in a vibrant blush--whatever color  _ that _ was. “Some people go their whole lives without knowing they’re colorblind. It’s...kinda cute, honestly.” Now it was Undyne’s turn to blush. “Um. Anyway! We should. Focus!”

“Yeah!” Ralsei let go of my hand and pattered over to the control room. “On it!”

Within moments, the boat began to turn. Undyne closed her eyes for a minute, her hand over her mouth.

“You okay?” I asked.

“Just...motion sickness.” She gave me a thumbs-up sign. “No big deal. I think it’s kinda funny.”

The roaring of the waterfalls grew louder, the deck becoming soaked with the sprinkling of water. Undyne excused herself to put her clothes and armor back on so she’d be ready for whatever waited for us in the other world. I watched us approach the clearly-the-same-color-as-at-least-five-others waterfall, until we approached the dock.

“Are we ready?” Ralsei asked as he parked the boat beside it.

Lancer wandered in then with a yawn. “That was a good nap. Where are we?”

“We’ve arrived to the waterfall, I guess,” I informed him.

“Oh, cool! Did I miss anything else?” 

I sighed. “These dumbasses think I’m colorblind.”

Lancer blinked. “I could’ve told you that.”

I groaned. “You, too?”

Lancer looked at Ralsei and shrugged. “I thought it was obvious.”

“Y’know...now that I think of it, me, too,” Ralsei agreed. “Sorry, Susie.”

“LET’S GO!” Undyne shouted, jumping off of the edge of the boat and onto the dock. “Oh hey, there’s a note here.”

“Lemme see!” With a fluttering of his cloak, Ralsei landed gracefully down onto the wood. “It’s not in Darkner,” he noted. 

“I can read it!” Undyne snapped, yanking the paper away. “It says, ‘Good job, Undyne!’ and is signed ‘Dr. Al’ with a little heart. But it’s bleeding for some reason?”

“Lemme see,” I said, sliding off of the edge of the boat and peering over her arm. Sure enough, everything she said was there. “Dr. Al...is that the other Alphys?”

“Probably,” Undyne folded it and tucked it in her armor. “Here’s another one.” She tore it down from the cobblestone wall. “This is in Darkner,” she said, handing it to Ralsei.

Ralsei hummed as he mulled over it. “Okay. It’s directions. It says to climb up the ladder, and that she manufactured it for us. She also added, ‘Some of the previous Undynes haven’t made it up, so I’ve made it stronger. Please make sure she and Susie go first, as a safety precaution.’ This is signed Alphys. Must be different than the Dr. Al.”

“Different timelines like different nicknames, I guess,” Undyne noted. “Interesting. Alright, this must be the ladder.” She gave it a test shake. “It’s bolted into this rock.”

“It’s also a long way up,” I added, looking up at where the waterfall came from. “Is someone up there?”

Undyne put a hand over her eyes and squinted. “Looks like someone’s watching us.”

“Let’s just...go up,” I offered. “If they don’t go away, I’ll just glare at them.”

“Maybe it’s Dr. Al?” Ralsei asked. I felt him lean against me, forcing me to go up a step.

Undyne exhaled, then began the ascent. 

It was every bit as miserable as one could imagine. Within a few yards, my muscles were screaming, my slippery hands threatening to let go. Undyne remained eerily silent the whole time, despite Ralsei and my bickering.

“Let’s sing a song as we go up!” Ralsei offered. I could hear the smile in his voice.

“When you sing, I fall asleep. Can you handle my bodyweight when I drop, toothpaste boy?”

“Toothpaste isn’t blue,” Kris reminded me from behind Ralsei.

“Whatever.”

“N-no, Susie, you’re right. I just wanted to, um, lift the mood!” he emitted a nervous giggle.

There was some more silence, then the sound of a smack and a yelp.

I paused on the ladder. “What the fuck?”

“Kris is slapping my, um, butt,” Ralsei complained.

“Oh my god,” I complained.

“It’s worse from down here!” Lancer called. “Trust me!”

I decided to ignore the couple as I followed Undyne, but not focusing on them meant focusing on  _ Undyne _ , and I couldn’t help but realize what a nice ass she had, even beneath the visible chain mail. It had to have been the nicest I personally had ever seen, large and muscular and still holding those womanly curves I adored so much. I wanted to smack it, but I stopped myself.

_ Stop it. Stop it. Stop it. _

After what felt like hours, though, we arrived at the top of the waterfall. My hair was stuck to my face to the point I could barely see, which was great because it meant I couldn’t stare at Undyne’s ass anymore. I was sticky and sweaty and covered in water, and all that made me absolutely freezing. With a turn once I arrived at the top of the waterfall beside Undyne, I noticed that Ralsei’s and Lancer’s fur were flattened under the moisture, which looked a little horrifying on the behemoth Lancer was, but cute on Ralsei.

“There’s more of you than I thought.”

I jumped and looked around. “Who said that?”

A figure stepped out from behind a mound of garbage, which made me wonder, why  _ was _ there so much garbage on top of a waterfall, anyway? Noelle, the vegan hippie she was, would’ve flipped shit if she saw anything this disgusting in nature. A part of me wanted to tell her about it, but then I remembered with a pain in my chest that I’d never talk to her again, regardless of how this mission went.

Why did emotions have to be so stupid and complicated?

“You probably saw my note! I’m Dr. Al.” As my eyes focused, I noticed she looked like the deceased Alphys, but a little taller, her voice silkier. There was something a little disturbing about her eyes, about how she cooly analyzed the group. It grew even more disturbing when she gazed upon Undyne, who instinctively reached for my arm for some reason. Behind those glasses, it looked almost as though she was undressing her with her eyes, and it made my stomach fucking churn. I didn’t like that look. It reminded me of so many horrible people in foster care.

I provided my arm for support.

“Hi, Dr. Al! I’m Ralsei!” Ralsei said, unaware of anything creepy about her. “The big kid’s Lancer, the human’s Kris, and I’m sure you know about Undyne and Susie.”

Dr. Al looked at me with a sneer. “Yes. Lady Death. I’ve heard so much about you, yet never got to study you in person.” 

I noticed what made me uncomfortable about her, then. She was so  _ unlike _ Alphys. There was no stammer to her voice, just pure analysis. I  _ hated _ it. I  _ hated _ her instantly. 

“Study?” I managed.

“Yes. Isn’t that what all of this is? A study. It’s not like finding an anomaly in the worlds is going to save anyone.” She emitted a laugh, which sounded a bit more Alphys-like with how it ended with a little snort. 

“What do you mean, anomaly?” Undyne asked. She sounded a bit annoyed, too, seeming to pick up on how creepy this person was.

Dr. Al gave her what probably could be considered a gentle smile, which to me felt anything  _ but _ gentle, more like the face of a demented kid before she dissected a cat or something. I’d lived with kids like her in foster care and knew, if given the opportunity, she would, too.

“Come,” Dr. Al said finally. “Let’s take the boat to...uh,  _ her _ lab. I’ll explain some things on the way.” Then she emitted that laugh again. “Or I’ll just leave it all to  _ her _ .”

We all stood awkwardly for a moment.

“Come on!” she waved us along.

I did not want to follow the demented lizard woman, but for the sake of the world, for Undyne, for my crush on this woman I barely knew, I did.


	14. I Play With Fire

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Susie meets two Alphyses; both very different from each other. CW for nonconsensual drugging.
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> This was...wow. A huge adventure to write! Shoutout to my betas Sandbirde and my wife for helping me out here!
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> Art shoutouts!  
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Dr. Al led a path around the garbage, which I noticed wasn’t rotting food and plastic, like normal garbage, but items. Old DVDs and VHS tapes littered the place, some of which I even recognized.

“Why is there so much garbage here?” I asked, just to try to break the ice.

“Because it’s a dump, obviously,” she sniffed. I thought she’d be silent, but she continued, “It’s where human waste goes. Hopes, dreams, unwanted things, old fandoms. Everything humans once loved end up down here for people like us to enjoy.” She emitted her high-pitched laugh-snort again. “Alphys  _ loves _ the dump. It’s really where she belongs.”

Undyne and I exchanged looks. 

“Alphys, as in...your name is not Alphys?”

Dr. Al turned, eyes ablaze, hands on her hips. “You will  _ refer _ to me as  _ Dr. Al _ so there is  _ no confusion _ between  _ me _ and  _ her _ !”

I opened my mouth to say something, but Undyne put an armored finger to her lips. I figured she sensed not to push Dr. Al, and with that snap, I agreed.

We followed wordlessly down the path, out of the dump and to a place where a cloaked figure sat on a boat.

“Nice cloak!” Ralsei said, his voice cracking. “I have the same one!”

“It’s good for mystery, no?” the ferryperson said. “Where am I taking you?”

“Hotland,” Dr. Al said.

“Hmmm...I could’ve sworn I already saw you go back there, Alphys.”

Dr. Al stiffened but said nothing.

“Hmmm...aren’t time shenanigans...quite fascinating?” the ferryperson didn’t turn when they said this, and instead, continued a strange little song. 

But unlike Ralsei’s music, it didn’t put me to sleep. It sent shivers up my spine, moreso than the cold water and rain around us.

Undyne and I exchanged more glances, but both of us seemed to mutually decide to let Dr. Al and the ferryperson be awkward by themselves. 

The temperature began to shift, subtle at first, until the water turned from what I assumed was blue to a deep orange.

Lava.

“Um,” Ralsei said, “isn’t lava gonna burn the boat?”

“It hasn’t yet,” the ferryperson replied, “but wouldn’t that be interesting?”

Undyne sat beside me, sweating, stripping off layers of armor. “I don’t like this,” she muttered.

“Of course you don’t,” Dr. Al replied, even though Undyne didn’t ask. “You’re a fish, and you’re life. That over there,” she jerked her thumb at me, “is death and has command over fire.” She gave me a glance with a raised eyebrow. “Isn’t it interesting how supposed soulmates can never live together? She can’t stand your realm, and you can’t stand hers.”

“Shut up,” I muttered.

“Do you have any water?” Undyne asked the group.

“There’s a cooler by the lab, just for you,” Dr. Al informed her. “The many yous tend to have trouble here. But don’t worry. The many Alphyses are always here to take care of you.” She gave Undyne’s wet hair a little pet, and Undyne dodged away, scooting closer to me.

As much as I hated it, I  _ did _ feel stronger near the fire. The hotter this area grew, the more I felt myself relax. The lava and flames reminded me of something, but I couldn’t quite place what it was. I wanted to say  _ home _ , but it wasn’t like I had a home to speak of. I wondered if I really did originate from fire, but I compartmentalized this to think about later, for the boat had stopped moving.

“It’s Wednesday,” the ferryperson announced. “Be careful.”

“Thank you. How much do I owe you?” Ralsei asked.

“The ferry is always free for those who seek it. Ta ta.” And once we were all off the boat, they disappeared.

“What a weirdo,” Lancer noted. He was panting a little in the heat. Hell, even Ralsei was, but I could tell he was trying to be subtle. I appeared to be the only one completely comfortable.

Curiously, I reached into the lava. I couldn’t explain my pull to it and, like most things I did, it made no sense, prophecy aside.

But I just  _ had to _ .

“Don’t!” Undyne shouted, lunging for me.

But it was too late. I submerged my hand and felt...warmth. But nothing else. It felt a bit like jelly, but in a comforting way, a bit too thick to swim in, but thin enough to splash. Flames danced up and down my arms, greeting my skin.

“Don’t you see, Undyne?” Dr. Al said to her. “She’s a monster.”

“We’re all monsters, Doc,” Undyne said, sounding absentminded and disinterested in her bullshit. “Are you okay?”

I pulled out a bit of the lava, and once it came in contact with the air, it dissolved into a flame in the palm of my hand. “Isn’t this so fucking cool?” I asked, showing her with a laugh.

Curiously, Undyne hovered her hand over it. “I’ve always liked fire, really, even though it can kill me so easy, y’know? I just...can’t stay away.”

Lancer coughed something about prophecies, which made Ralsei giggle.

We ignored both of them.

“Does it hurt?” Undyne asked.

“Nah. Feels good. Like...a friend.”

“Aw, thanks to us, Susie knows what friendship feels like!” Ralsei announced.

“Shut up,” I muttered, letting the flame move freely around my fingers.

“I wanna touch it!” Lancer announced and, without warning, stuck his finger in.

“Dumbass,” I said with a wheeze-laugh, watching as he shouted and clutched his finger.

“It burnt my fur off!”

“Obviously.”

“Why didn’t you stop me?”

“‘Cause it’s funny to watch you do stupid shit.”

“You’re mean,” Lancer whined, putting his finger in his mouth.

“I know.”

Kris looked like they were about to speak, which interested me deeply because the moments they spoke were so few and far between, but we heard footsteps approaching us.

A figure who looked like--and nothing at all like--Dr. Al approached us. They were the same height--petite, like me--and same weight--a bit pudgy--and both wore lab coats and glasses, but nothing else was the same. This Alphys seemed nervous, a bit hunched over, her eyes darting among the group, unsure. She twiddled her fingers, loose threads on her lab coat, and worried her lip before speaking.

“Y-you all made it! I’m Dr. A-A-Alphys, but you probably already knew th-that.” She laughed nervously, almost just like Dr. Al, but with a twinge of worry and less high-pitches. “Y-You can just call me Alphys,” she added quickly.

“Well...not everyone,” Undyne managed. She was sitting again, looking oddly pale. “Susie, do you wanna...give her the jar?” She reached into one of her pockets and pulled it out.

I was surprised to see that it was completely undented, unmarred by our travels. Her glasses still sat atop the ashes. 

“Wh-what’s that?” Alphys asked. 

“It’s...you,” I said, extinguishing the flame in my hand by blowing on it and handing over the jar. “Well, is and isn’t you. This shit’s kinda confusing.”

“It’s you from our timeline,” Undyne said, leaning against some rocks, eyes heavily lidded. “She…”

Dr. Al and Alphys exchanged looks. “The Time Being,” they said in unison.

I didn’t realize how their voices were exactly the same until that moment. I shivered.

“How did you know?” Ralsei asked, looking as though he very much did  _ not _ want to know how they knew, but asking anyway despite the worry in his eyes.

“What  _ don’t _ I know?” Dr. Al sneered, stepping closer to Ralsei.

Ralsei looked up at her, his gaze not faltering, but saying nothing. I had the sense, in the back of my mind, that he had grown tougher being around me, being used to my bullshit.

“Um!” Alphys announced, waving her free hand desperately, clutching the ashes of herself from another timeline in the other. “L-l-l-let’s go get something to dr-drink! Undyne looks l-like she needs it!”

“Please,” Undyne groaned. She looked almost...dry, like she was cracking.

I reached out and held her against my shoulder, which was a little awkward with our height differences, but we walked in step normally, so it wasn’t too hard to make it through the winding path to the Lab. 

I’d never been in a lab before, aside from a school lab when I was a kid, at my fifth grade school, when we had a free-for-all and I decided to make chlorine gas for the fun of it. I was expelled for that, but the explosion it made in a pressurized container was pretty cool. It didn’t melt my lungs, though, which was the goal, so that was disappointing.

This didn’t look like a school science class. This building was  _ huge _ , even from the outside. It kinda looked like a giant white box, but once Alphys key carded us in (it had a  _ key card _ , like shit from TV) and the lights flickered on, all I could think was  _ science fiction _ . The tile, the whirrs of mysterious machines, the complex computer setups, and...was that a robot?

The other thing that came to mind was messy.

It made my room back at Catti and my place look spotless, with how so many graphs and stretches of red yarn were spread across the walls and floors. Cups of ramen, coffee, and boxes of cookies lay strewn about. There were also two very distinctly separate piles of laundry in the corners, one full of reds and blacks, and the other, pastels I couldn’t tell the difference between. Conflicting anime posters decorated the rest of the science-fiction walls, one with horror anime (mostly of They’re Crying and Goethe--which I recognized from my own favorites) and Mew Mew Kissy Cutie on the other. 

“I...should’ve cleaned b-before I got you g-guys,” Alphys sighed. “I’m sorry.”

“No big deal! I’m used to Susie’s messes!” Ralsei exclaimed, giving Alphys a reassuring pet.

“What’s this?” Kris said finally, toeing the yarn.

“Th-that! That’s an explanation for a-after you guys rest!” Alphys said. “Kitchens are th-this way!”

“It’s timeline theory,” Dr. Al corrected. “We ran out of walls.”

“Yeah…” Alphys smiled nervously. “Sometimes we get a little, uh, carried away? With our n-notes?”

“We?” Dr. Al crossed her arms. “I’ll have you know  _ my _ writing is detailed, legible,  _ and _ right to the point.”

“You write in shorthand!”

“So?”

“No one’s used shorthand since the nineteenth century! I have no idea what you’re talking about!” 

I couldn’t help but notice Alphys stopped stuttering when arguing with her other self.

“Your handwriting’s trash, just like your anime.”

Alphys’ eyes widened. “You take that back!”

“No!” Dr. Al chuckled, still snorting as usual. “You literally  _ found _ yours in the trash!”

“Oh? And where did your torture porn come from?”

“My world. Y’know, the one that was destroyed? The one I’m here to help you save yourself from?”

“Um, Alphys?” Undyne said, clearing her throat.

Dr. Al and Alphys looked up.

“Were we...still gonna have drinks? I’m kinda drying out.”

“Y-Yes!” Alphys straightened, cheeks flushed. “I’ll...get those right away!”

“Let me do it!” Dr. Al protested, blushing equally. “Our warrior needs only the  _ best _ !”

“No way! You think you’re gonna give her the best? This isn’t even  _ your house _ !”

“I sure know how to please a woman better than you.” Dr. Al gave her other self a shove.

“Jesus Christ,” I muttered, walking around the squabbling lizard monsters. “I’ll figure out our own drinks. C’mon, y’all.”

Alphys seemed to come to her senses then. “Let me help you, Susie.”

For a moment, I forgot Alphys didn’t totally hate me like Dr. Al, and I quickly shook away my confusion. “Thanks.”

She pushed open the double doors to the kitchen, which really looked suitable for feeding large groups and not just two scientists who lived on ramen. When I turned to look at the cabinets behind me, I figured that Kris, Ralsei, Lancer, and Undyne would’ve followed me, but it was just Alphys and me.

“I’m...sorry about her,” Alphys said, filling a cup of water. “She’s been kinda...uppity lately. We’ll...e-explain everything soon.” She stepped closer. “You look just like Clam Girl said you would.”

“How’s that? Who’s Clam Girl?”

“Guess she was an old...neighbor of yours? Said you were short, kinda buff, too much hair. But it’s not just that. You radiate this...energy.” 

“Energy?” I noticed that Alphys seemed to calm down now that we were talking one-on-one. Maybe large groups overwhelmed her like they did to my old teacher. 

“Yeah. It’s like you’re--”

“Move.”

Dr. Al shoved Alphys out of the way and snatched the water. 

Alphys emitted a squeaking sound, then groaned. “Can’t you wait?”

“Undyne is literally dying, and you’re standing in the middle of the kitchen!” Dr. Al motioned for us to leave. “Get out!”

“This is  _ my _ kitchen, Al!”

“Get. Out.”

Alphys put an arm around me--which wasn’t hard, considering our similar builds--and we left Dr. Al to whatever she thought she was doing. 

“M-maybe she’ll calm down if she’s the one to give U-Undyne refreshments!” Alphys said, hope making her voice crack.

“Maybe. She seems a bit...obsessed.”

Alphys sighed but didn’t say anything regarding the matter. She looked toward the group I had brought with me, who were all trying to decipher the time theory all over the floor and walls. “D-do you wanna...watch...anime?”

Undyne straightened. “Sure, as long as I still get water.”

“Water’s on the way!” Dr. Al called from the kitchen. “Plus something special! I want you to feel at home, since this is your home for the next six months!”

“Thank you,” Undyne said delicately, as though she weren’t really thankful at all.

“What anime are we watching?” Lancer piped up. 

“If you put trash on, Alphys…” Dr. Al’s warning tone came through the door.

“I’m n-not gonna put on trash! W-we can all settle for something like…” Alphys thought hard.

“Something with swords?” Undyne suggested. “Everyone likes swords.”

“Swords are good!” Alphys exclaimed. “I have just the thing! This way!”

Alphys’ futuristic home had  _ escalators _ , which was fucking amazing. She had ones going up to a doored-off area--her room, maybe--and ones going downstairs to what looked like a living room.

“Hey Susie,” Lancer said, catching up to me, “d’you wanna go down the up escalator and up the down escalator?”

“P-p-please don’t,” Alphys said. “Last time...that didn’t go so well.”

Lancer frowned. “Fine,” he grumbled.

We all settled on assorted futons and beanbags in the living room while Alphys went through DVDs, looking for something adequately swordy. 

Dr. Al came down the escalator then, carrying a tray full of assorted beverages. “I had the deceased teacher Alphys take notes of what you liked and I accomodated. So!” She set the tray down on the coffee table. “Water and golden flower tea for Undyne,” she said as she handed them over, being sure to brush her hands against Undyne’s. 

“Thanks,” Undyne said, recoiling a bit and leaning back to chug the water, pouring the rest on her face.

“Lemon soda for Alphys, because you’re wrong,” Dr. Al said, handing a glass to Alphys, who rolled her eyes.

“Lemon soda is delicious,” Alphys muttered into her glass. 

“Grape soda for Lancer, root beer for Ralsei, and beer for Kris and Susie.”

Kris nodded as they took their bottle, but I noticed mine was in a glass.

“What’s...why isn’t mine in a bottle?” I asked, swishing around the liquid. It smelled like an IPA, which was good, even though I hated that I liked them.

“I heard you like lime in yours, and I hate getting them out of bottles before recycling,” Dr. Al replied.

I nodded and took a sip. It warmed the core of my being with its sharp, bready goodness, and I sighed.

“Why didn’t I get a beer?” Undyne pouted.

Dr. Al got to her feet. “I’ll get you one!” And she ran out of the room as fast as she could to fetch one.

Undyne and I rolled our eyes at each other. 

“Alright, I’m just gonna start without her!” Alphys announced, and pushed play before settling into a lizard ball in her beanbag.

As I watched the sword anime--which I couldn’t really pay attention to, because I was really dizzy--I started to feel uncomfortably hot. I wasn’t this hot touching literally lava, so why was it warm now? Was it because the room was stuffy for having so many people packed in it?

I took another sip of beer, hoping to cool myself down.

“Is it, like, really hot in here to anyone?” I asked to no one in particular.

Dr. Al came in then and handed Undyne a beer--bottled, like Kris.

“We’re in Hotland,” Undyne said as she took a drink.

“But I’m immune to fire.” The warmth was starting to cause an almost uncomfortable burning sensation between my legs, and I adjusted my sitting position to cause some friction.

Friction…

Oh no.

My heart began to race. Why was it that, right now, in a room full of people, I was insatiably horny? Was this how I dealt with stress? I thought about it for a moment, deciding that yes, I  _ did _ tend to get horny under stress. Maybe that was why I wanted Undyne so bad…

Water dripped off of Undyne’s cheek, left over from the cup of water she poured on herself earlier. I wanted desperately to kiss that cheek, to lap up her element, to kiss her…

And feel her kiss other places that were starting to burn.

_ Fuck _ . I wiggled my legs, desperate for some relief, but it only left me wanting more. My insides cramped and clenched, desperate to hold onto something, anything inside of me.

“This is pretty good, Alphys,” Undyne noted as she took another swig of beer.

“Thanks!” both of the Alphyses said in unison.

“It hasn’t even gotten t-to the main plot arc!” 

_ Fuck. _ I wasn’t gonna last that long. “Um, is there a bathroom?”

Dr. Al turned and gave me a grin, and my heart sank.

This wasn’t just horny-anxiety, was it?

The glass.

The bottles.

It all clicked.

There was something in my drink.

“I’ll show you,” Dr. Al said, grabbing my arm and helping me up.

I felt my own hot, disgusting fluids travel from between my legs down my pants, seeping through the legs of my boxers. “I-I’m sure I can find it,” I said, trying to stop my legs from shaking.

“Are you okay?” Undyne asked.

_ Fuck, Undyne. Could literally anyone else ask me that? I can’t listen to your voice right now _ . “Yeah, I’m fine, I think…just not feeling too good.”

Lancer snorted. “Lightweight.”

“I’ll beat your ass later, spade boy!”

“This way,” Dr. Al said, grabbing me by the arm before I could protest. She led me up the escalator, down the hall, and to a room that had a very-clear lizard-shaped bathroom sign.

“Heh,” I said, heart pounding in my ears, trying desperately to keep my legs together to not show the growing splotch between them, “guess we are both lizards, huh?”

Dr. Al didn’t say anything, just keycarded us in. 

But it didn’t look like a bathroom.

It was almost...pitch black, but she flickered on some lights, and I noticed it led to another hallway.

“Where are we going?” I asked.

Dr. Al grimaced. “I know you like her, Susan.”

“Don’t call me Susan and answer my fucking question. Where. Are. We. Going.”

Dr. Al stopped in front of me, eyes ablazed. “I know how you feel about Undyne. I’ve seen it in the legends, in the prophecies. I’ve seen how you look at her, how you touch her arm, how your pupils dilate whenever she speaks. So I’m here to teach you a lesson.”

“What, you gonna rape me in your secret torture dungeon in your lab?”

“No.” She gave me a rather sinister grin. “I’m not a rapist. But I  _ will _ show you not to come between me and Undyne. I don’t care what the prophecy says. Life and Death aren’t supposed to be together. Fire and water can’t make love.” Her eyes flashed, and she keycarded open another door, pushing me inside. “I love Undyne, and you can’t fucking have her, Susan.”

I tripped and looked around. It looked like some sort of holding room for medical patients, with a bed, a TV with the wires cut, a hangar for an IV, and those stark white walls that were always in hospitals. My legs could barely hold myself up. I wanted so badly to throttle her, to break her glasses and then her face, but I could barely hold up my own bodyweight. The pale room swam before my eyes.

“Are you  _ sure _ you’re not gonna rape me?” I managed to snark, my voice shaky. “Slipping me an aphrodisiac seems pretty rapey, Doc.”

“No. I have no interest in you. I only have interest in you feeling the way I do.” She stepped closer, pinning me against the bed. “Suffering the way I suffer. You’re gonna sit in here and you’re gonna think. And you’re gonna suffer until the drugs wear off, alone, without your beloved. Without life. Don’t think I’ll be merciful, either, providing you with toys or anything. All you have are your fingers and your thoughts.” With that, she backed out of the room. “Sweet dreams, Susan.”

“Wait, wait!” I screamed as the door slammed. With all my remaining strength, I ran up to it and shouldered it, as I was able to break open doors before in other similar situations...except no one who’d drugged me had ever left me alone to be tortured, though. 

The door didn’t budge.

I heard noises, though, down the hall. Footsteps and the familiar sound of chainmail.

“Is Susie okay?”

Undyne’s voice.

I sank to my knees. It was all I could do to not touch myself there. I could hear my wanting, heavy breathing, and hated myself for it.

“Yes, she’s just not feeling too good,” Dr. Al replied smoothly. “Didn’t want her to get lost on her way to the bathroom.”

“Let me see her.”

“Why would I do that? Wouldn’t it be weird to watch someone you’ve only known for a day or two have the shits, as you would say?”

“I’m just worried. I haven’t seen her so pale before.”

“She’ll be fine. Just give her an hour or two.”

“If she’s not out within an hour, I’m breaking the door down.”

_ That’s so hot and you have no fucking idea, Undyne. _

There was the sound of another door shutting, footsteps retreating.

I was alone, and everyone was too far away to hear me.

I sighed, resigned to myself, and looked at the bed.

If I was gonna be alone in here, I figured I might as well make the most of it.

I could kill Dr. Al later, but some release might be nice...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, obviously, there's smut in the next chapter. This smut is already on my Patreon, and will be public by the time Chapter 17 is finished, but if you wanna read it earlier than that, go ahead and patron!
> 
> If you want to avoid the smut, just skip chapter 15. There's only a tiny bit of plot in it involving Alphys, but if that's not your thing, don't worry about it. I try to keep my smut out of the main storyline. However, there is a side plot going on involving it, so it's worth a read if you're so inclined.


	15. Alphys Gives Me a Hand

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alphys helps with Susie's...situation.
> 
> [SMUT WARNING! RATING CHANGED TO EXPLICIT!]
> 
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**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merry Christmas to those of you who celebrate! Sorry this took so long; I've been working on projects for Secret Santa (which you'll see posted in the next couple days) as well as Christmas presents for my friends! If you want to read more chapters, I do have them up on my Patreon, as my public accounts are two chapters behind. Just a heads up!
> 
> Another heads up! This contains explicit lesbian smut! A sort of...fucked up one night stand, in fact! If this makes you uncomfortable, there's not a LOT of plot in this chapter aside from character development and this chapter is referenced later, so you can get away with skipping it, no harm done. 
> 
> Entry shoutouts!  
> Geckota   
> Cover: [dA](https://www.deviantart.com/geckota/art/Cover-Contest-Entry-775003826) [Twitter](https://twitter.com/notgeckota/status/1069167693624819712)  
> I’m Sorry, Susie: [dA](https://www.deviantart.com/geckota/art/I-m-sorry-Susie-774497432) [Twitter](https://twitter.com/notgeckota/status/1067865933866131456%22)  
> NSFW Fanart:  
> Seafood Dinner: [dA](https://www.deviantart.com/geckota/art/Seafood-Dinner-775569097) [Twitter](https://twitter.com/notgeckota/status/1070587949908090880)   
> You Want To Make This Weird? (Speedpaint): [dA](https://www.deviantart.com/geckota/art/Undyne-Speedpaint-2-776299447) [Twitter](https://twitter.com/notgeckota/status/1072570364952240128)   
> Showering Susie: [dA](https://www.deviantart.com/geckota/art/Susie-Speedpaint-776394469) [Twitter](https://twitter.com/notgeckota/status/1072805343703400449)   
> Susyne: [dA](https://www.deviantart.com/geckota/art/Susyne-777322106) [Twitter](https://twitter.com/notgeckota/status/1075318977646059520)
> 
> Kimera   
> Cover: [Twitter](https://twitter.com/AlfaKimera/status/1070448383696011272) [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/p/BrBdHDvls1r/)  
> Smooch!: [Twitter](https://twitter.com/theshutendouji/status/1070480570046603264) [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/p/BrBsUk6hv6z/)  
> NSFW Fanart:  
> Sensual Susyne: [Twitter](https://twitter.com/theshutendouji/status/1070410191181557760) [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/p/BrBMSs6BPNx//)  
> Spear of Fuckstice: [Twitter](https://twitter.com/theshutendouji/status/1073388486198063104) [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/p/BrWYBm9hOC0/)
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Hospital sheets, in my experience, were never soft. They were always that cheap, itchy fake cotton, paired with that strange, fuzzy brown blanket that only hospitals and motels had, usually covered in mysterious stains.

This was immaculate, as though someone had actually lived in here. The sheets were just worn to the right amount, the blankets on the silky side.

But I couldn’t spend too much time thinking about comfort. I needed release, and I needed it  _ now _ .

God, when was the last time I had even masturbated? My sex life with Noelle was fairly nonexistent toward the end there, but I was too depressed to even touch myself before she eventually ended it.

Undyne…

She sparked a fire, so to speak, within me again, something that I thought Noelle had done before. But Undyne seemed...so much more alive. She was sexy, and tall, and had so much personality and didn’t seem afraid to share that or her thoughts.

I needed that, especially after Noelle’s passiveness.

Less thinking, more fucking.

I peeled off my clothes with shaking hands and tossed them aside, sighing at the sheets on my aching muscles before giving myself a test touch. 

I had forgotten what my vagina felt like.

People used to tell me, “Once you’ve seen one, you’ve seen them all,” and as a professional lesbian delinquent, I could easily tell all of them that they’re wrong. Everyone had different touches, different tastes, different lengths. I didn’t have much labia to speak of at all, and I was mostly interested in the internal pounding than the external teasing, so I went for it.

Who needed a warmup when you were drugged, right?

One finger slid in easily. Too easily. It was nothing. I groaned and added another, feeling around. It was only a little better. Three? I did like three on a good day, not that today was a good day.

So I tried it.

I felt myself spill around my hand, squishing around the fingers, and my body shuddered. Finally, some friction where I needed it. Being ambidextrous had its perks; I used my right hand to swirl around my clit, just for something, anything else. My hips lifted anxiously, shuddering at my ministrations, and a moan slipped between my lips.

_ Fuck, Undyne… _

I’d know the cop for what, twenty-four hours? And I hated,  _ hated _ how strongly I felt for her. I thought of those teeth, as lethal as they were lovely, and how they’d feel shredding my skin. I thought of the rippling muscles in her arms, her shoulders, her back, her legs, her ass…

As I picked up the pace, grossed out at the sounds coming from myself, I wondered how she’d fuck. She mentioned she liked women. Was she a top? Would she take me from behind, weaponizing a strapon? She sure seemed like the type to want to make other people happy, insisting, “No, I don’t need any, it’s fine!” when you’d want to return the favor.

Oh, and I’d fucking return it. I’d devour every inch of her, tear her apart. I wondered how she tasted, how she felt. I wondered what it’d be like to roll her clit around with my tongue before delving deep between the folds as she tore my hair out with those powerful hands of hers. Did she make noises? Was she one of those husky ladies who only emitted low moans, one I wasn’t lucky enough to be?

I searched around a bit deeper. It wasn’t the same alone. Tears filled my eyes as I fucked myself, rocking against my hands, screaming to the high heavens or hells or whatever looked out for the abomination I was for some sort of release.

Then the door opened.

I froze, left hand’s fingers still deep inside.

I expected Dr. Al, back with more taunting, more shaming me for my worthy-of-shame crush that would go absolutely fucking nowhere. 

But it wasn’t Dr. Al.

It was Alphys.

“Oh my god,” she said, running over to me. “Y-you can stop, if you want! I’m gonna help you!”

“A-Alphys?” I asked, stupid as ever. “What’re you--”

She attached a bag of...something...to the hangar. “I’m gonna flush this out of your system.”

“But--”

“Give me your arm.”

“Alphys, I can’t...stop…”

“You need to.”

“Help me.”

“I’m trying! I-if you just give me your arm!”

“Alphys.” I craned my neck. “I know you don’t know me very well and it’s a lot to ask but…” I noticed that I unconsciously resumed fucking myself, still three fingers deep in my pussy as Alphys desperately tried not to look. “Can you…”

“What do you need?” She leaned against the bed, eyes watering with worry.

“I can’t...get myself off. I don’t think I can sit still until…”

Her eyes widened, slit pupils dilating. “You...want me to fuck you?”

I nodded vigorously, then closed my eyes, forcing away the tears of shame. “I mean...not if you don’t want to. It’s just...even this...drugging bullshit aside, it’s been so long, and...I’m desperate to feel literally anyone else. I’m not enough.”

Alphys’ face fell. I could almost see her balancing the moral quandary in her mind before she took off her gloves, muttered “Fuck it,” and shucked off her lab coat.

“Thank you,” I sighed as she undressed. 

I didn’t really know what I expected beneath her lab coat, but she was wearing sweatpants and a faded Mew Mew Kissy Cutie shirt. What was underneath  _ that _ , however, was  _ much _ more fascinating. 

She was...curves. 

Pick any definition of  _ fertility _ and  _ womanly _ and she fit it. She literally looked like old symbols of fertility goddesses in the textbooks I had barely paid attention to in Alphys’ classes (but  _ did _ pay attention to those images, as a girl who was so fascinated with women). She had the cutest tummy I had ever seen, but with the way she bent over, I figured she didn’t like it much, so I didn’t say anything. When she took off her bra behind her back, it was like unsheathing a secret weapon; they were large, with pinkened areolas and inverted nipples, beginning to come out of hiding. 

When she slipped out of her panties, I noticed she was dripping, a thin stream connecting her pussy to her panties. 

“Um,” she said, looking down. “I, uh...you’re cute, okay?”

“That’s...whatever, but...damn,” I hissed between my teeth. “Come here, you.”

“I know I’m not much, but…”

“You’re plenty, Alphys.” I reached my arms out, my vagina screaming at being without the fingers, and she fell into my arms.

“You’re, um, not bad yourself,” she giggled, emitting a tiny snort. “Um! I mean!”

“Sh.” I silenced her with my lips, running my hands up and down those delightful curves, those ridges and folds. She relaxed into me, but wasted no time to live up to her end of the bargain, her hands searching my body before reaching to my crotch.

“Oh,” she said, pulling back a little to look at me. 

With a free hand, I took off her glasses, which seemed to have a bit of resistance.

“How do these... _ haahh…”  _ My voice trailed off as she outlined my clit, which twitched in response. “How do they stay on so well?”

“Oh!” She giggled nervously. She was really cute when she was nervous, but maybe I was just horny. I  _ did _ have a weakness for nerds, though. “They’re, um...they’re a-attached to the magical energy that m-makes my body! So I don’t have to, um, adjust them wh-when I’m working!” She quirked an eyebrow. “You...didn’t have to take them off.”

“I didn’t want to break them. Or force you to look at me.”

“I’d...like to look at you, if that’s okay. You’re, um...really hot. If that’s okay to say!” She snatched the glasses back from me and put them back on. “And i-if you break them, then you’re pretty strong, because I’ve m-modified them to be...unbreakable?”

“Why do you want to look at me?”

“I’d like to, um, see you do...this?” 

“Do what?”

Without warning, she slipped two fingers in me, curling them deep inside. 

I exhaled in a low moan--maybe I  _ did _ have a husky voice--and trembled, hips grinding against her hand, desperate. 

“That!” she said with a giggle. “I’m sorry, is that...weird?”

“Nah,” I replied. “But can you...go a bit harder?”

She nodded and sat up a bit, grabbing my hips with one hand. “If you’re sure.”

“Yes, yes, please!”

She dug her claws into my side and picked up the pace. She was a lot stronger than she looked, able to easily pick up the lower half of my body. I swung a leg over her shoulder, giving her a better angle, and she inhaled sharply, staring rather intently.

“Is...this okay?” she asked, slowing down a little, questioning with her “come hither” motions against that oh-so-special spot that never failed to make me squirt against my will.

And I did just that.

I covered my face in shame.

Alphys giggled. “I guess so!” And she went for it.

It had been so long since I intermingled with anyone. Noelle was a pillowqueen at best, so I rarely got any when we were together. My hands left something to be desired, as I was aware of my own body’s motions and couldn’t get that right amount of pleasure.

But I realized, as she fucked me, Alphys was a scientist, and one who liked women. If anyone was to understand what I liked, it’d be her.

It took awhile for the awkwardness of a stranger--and my former teacher, in another timeline--fucking me to fade, but eventually, I just relaxed my weight against her and allowed her to take control. And  _ damn _ , was she good at it.

Every inch of me was on fire, despite the liquid spilling and squirting from me. I couldn’t keep my damn mouth shut. I chewed my hand desperately to keep myself from screaming from every twist and twitch and thrust of her fingers.

I wanted to say something, anything, but all that came out of me was mangled cries, screams, and half-words as I writhed beneath her. It didn’t take long for my first orgasm to hit me with surprise, to slap me in the chest and punch her fingers out of me as I convulsed.

But she didn’t stop.

In hindsight, I don’t think she wanted to, with the way she leaned over me and offered me gentle kisses. “I’m sorry,” she said, though I wasn’t sure what she was sorry for. 

Then I realized I was crying. Crying as this woman pityfucked me.

I was such a fucking mess.

But I asked, anyway. It took effort, concentration, and digging my heels into the bed before I was able to say, “Why are...you sorry?”

“I’m sorry this...happened to you. I’m sorry I’m...not who you want.”

“Who I want?”

“Undyne, right?”

My chest heaved. She still hadn’t stopped fingering me, leaving a trail of little kisses down my stomach (“It’s so firm,” she mumbled to herself) before tracing her tongue around my clit.

“More,” I whined, bucking my hips on her.

She obliged, devouring my clit, the tongue relentlessly swirling. She added another finger, and I screamed, desperately trying to muffle out the cries with the pillow but accidentally throwing it across the room instead. One, two, three pumps and I was gone, long gone, my body aflame. I wasn’t sure if I was sin itself, or the inferno that burnt the sinners, but somehow, I felt like both.

I actually  _ felt _ like a monstrosity.

She slowed down as I finished until my breathing and convulsions ceased. After, she sat up, her tail curled around her naked form as she wiped off her fingers on the sheets. “Better? I can, um--eep!”

I pounced. “Good deeds don’t go unpunished,” I reminded her.

“I, I?” she looked confused. “You don’t have--”

“Shut up.” God, I wanted to fucking destroy her, and with the way her cheeks flushed, with the wanton way she spread her legs, she was so fucking  _ ready _ to be ruined, too. 

I copied her, leaving a trail of kisses, but with her nervous giggles, they quickly became bites, and she squealed with delight, wiggling and writhing. 

“Susie, I--”

I paused, hovering over her pussy. “Do you want me to stop?”

Her eyes widened as she propped herself up on her elbows. “God, no. I just...didn’t expect?”

Not breaking eye contact, I traced my tongue over her folds. She was a bit salty, almost like tears, but the hint of something sweet too, like tangerines. It was a little odd at first, but soon, I was lost in it, lost in the sensation of her walls closing around my tongue, in the music her breaking voice created in response to me.

“I’m g-gonna--”

“Nah.” I pulled back.

She whined, grabbing a lock of my hair. “Why? Why would you do that?”

“I can do better than this.”

“You could finish m-me at all!” she protested.

“Oh, I could,” I drawled, tracing over her folds with my tongue. They were longer than mine, longer than I was used to, but that left oh so much more to play with. I hadn’t realized how touch-starved I was until there was a naked woman with me, and my heart (and my metaphorical dick) were swelling to the point I felt as though I was about to burst, to become my own Hotland. 

“Susie…” she said in a warning tone.

“Alphys…” I teased before plunging two fingers in.

She screamed, and I did just as she did to me; sucking on and lapping her clit as I pounded mercilessly into her. I could feel her grab onto the sheets before they tore beneath her claws, so she grabbed onto my hair as she grinded against my face, screaming obscenities I had never pictured someone like Alphys emitting, combinations of curses that would make a sailor blush.

Her voice crescendoed, and she arched her back, her voice breaking to complete silence for a moment as her walls clenched. For a moment, it felt as though time had stopped, and I was stuck in this strange hospital bed with Alphys forever and never. But time resumed with her exhale, with her nymphomaniac moans. She gushed around me with her release and scream until she was left a quivering, sweaty mess beneath me.

I climbed over her, wiping off my mouth before giving her a peck on the lips. She returned it like a question.

“Hi,” she said finally as I settled in beside her. “How are you feeling?”

“Better,” I said, “though I’m still kinda...hot.”

“You are,” she said, her voice dreamy for a second. Then she snapped out of it. “Oh! I should run the saline!” She slid out of bed and I only got a moment to enjoy the rippling of her ass before she covered herself back up in her clothes and washed up to put the IV in my arm.

“Unfortunately, the best things to do with things like this are emetics or just flushing them out,” Alphys said, “but if you’re already feeling the effects of an aphrodisiac, it’s already in your bloodstream, so all an emetic would do is make you dehydrated.”

“Emetic?” I asked, because I didn’t fucking pay attention in school.

Alphys paused. “Make you throw up.”

“Got it. So what’s this?”

“Literally, it’s saline and magic. You’re a fire elemental, but your body is still partially water, and you’ll need the water to push the poison out of your body. You’ll probably pee a lot,” she added with a giggle, “but it’s better than throwing up.”

She stuck the IV in my arm before dripping the saline in. I didn’t feel too much different yet.

“If...it’s not too much to ask,” I began.

“Nothing’s too m-much to ask after... _ that _ ,” Alphys snorted. “What’s up?”

“Can we...cuddle?”

She sighed, then climbed back into the bed, nose to nose with me. “Like this?”

I wrapped my arms around her. “Better.”

She giggled and snuggled in. “This is...really nice, honestly. I could fall asleep like this.”

“Shit, I fucking might.”

“That’s okay. Sleep helps you heal.”

“Maybe I will.”

We didn’t say anything for a while, just stared at each other, stared at the possibilities of us and what all of that meant. Eventually, as the magic ran its course in my bloodstream, I fell asleep, and with the steady breathing of Alphys, it seemed as though she did, too.


	16. I Wake Up With More Questions than Answers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The morning after.  
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I woke up alone, which was to be expected, but I wasn’t in the strange hospital room anymore. I was in an actual bedroom, which looked significantly less sciency than the rest of the building. 

A fire crackled in the fireplace across from my bed, and I sat up, desperately wanting to stick my hands in, but my head pounded, and I groaned and flopped back down. I felt as though I had been hit with the worst hangover ever. What happened, anyway?

I rolled over, enjoying the silky sheets against my bare skin.

And I remembered.

Dimension hopping.

The beer.

The aphrodisiac.

Alphys.

_Oh, fuck._

I snuggled deeper under the quilt, then noticed I was laying on something hard and metallic. I reached for it. A remote?

I switched it on. The bricks above the fireplace adjusted, and a TV slid out.

_Fuckin’ sweet._

I turned on something brainless--some monster reality TV show I’d never seen before--as I processed everything. When the commercials hit, I decided to get up, stretch, and look around the room.

Whoever put me in bed decided to give me an old t-shirt--some anime I didn’t recognize--and some new boxers, folded atop the dresser, so I put them on. The boxers felt new. Did Alphys buy them for me? How did she know my size?

There was also a glass of water on the dresser, but I didn’t touch it, though I desperately wanted to. I didn’t trust liquids anymore.

On the bookshelves beside the fireplace were stacks of manga, science journals, DVDs, and some video games, which made me check to see if there were consoles.

There _were_.

 _Alphys sure thought of everything,_ I thought to myself.

She even set a few stacks of boxes of MTT-Brand Cigarettes on the shelves, with a note saying, _Your world’s Alphys told me about your vices. If you want to quit, talk to me, but for now, here they are._ It was signed Alphys and in her regular slapdash, so it felt trustworthy, so I took one.

I couldn’t find my lighter, so I sighed, decided to erase my past reservations of using fire magic, and snapped my fingers. A tiny flame appeared. I held the cigarette between my teeth, inhaled, and ignited my least favorite vice before opening a window.

There was a pretty neat view of Hotland outside, the lava flowing past other sciency-aesthetic buildings. I wasn’t used to rooms with windows and usually smoked using dryer sheets and toilet paper tubes, since foster kids like me were often shoved in closets and forgotten about and/or beaten, so I really enjoyed the view. 

With an exhale, my breath came to life, becoming tiny sparks and flames before descending to the lava. I caught one and twirled it around before setting it free. 

_Maybe I shouldn’t be so ashamed of my abilities...but how will I get Undyne to like me if she can’t stand the flames?_

There was a knock at the door, and with the nervous clearing of the person’s throat on the other side, I figured it was Alphys. 

“What’s up?” I called.

“C-can I come in?” She sounded more anxious than usual. I could hear her tapping her feet slightly.

“‘Course,” I exhaled, speaking smoke into the room.

She opened the door slowly. “Oh, good, you’re decent,” she said, then walked in.

“What do you mean?” I asked, putting out the cigarette on the windowsill. “It’s not like you haven’t seen all of me before.”

She flushed crimson and averted her eyes. “Um, well...I don’t know i-if it’s appropriate now…”

I walked closer to her. “Why not?”

“I’m sorry.” She sat on the edge of the bed, hugging her knees. “I came t-to apologize to you, f-f-for taking advantage of you.”

I frowned. “You didn’t do anything I didn’t ask for.”

“But you were drugged!” she protested. “It...wasn’t professional of me.”

“So? I wanted you to. And I consented to everything. It’s all cool, Alphys. Really.”

She buried her face in her hands. “I’m...always fucking things up…”

“Alphys, come on now.”

“I c-couldn’t stop Al. I was stupid. A-and instead of being a good friend, I just...I just…”

“Alphys, oh my god.”

“I’m...really attracted to you.” She looked up, her eyes watering. “And it...got the better of me.”

I raised my eyebrows. “You’re...attracted to me?”

“Yeah. I...k-kinda have a type.”

“What, Undyne? I’m nothing like her.”

She giggled with a snort in her usual dorky way. “You don’t see it, do you?”

“See what?”

“You’re both...strong. Independent. You both d-don’t care what p-people think of you. You’re honest...almost to a fault. Of c-c-course I’d want to...I’d want to…” Her voice trailed off. “No one’s asked me to...touch them in so long, Susie.”

“I literally already told you it’s fine.” I sat next to her, putting a hand on her knee. “Really. It’s okay. I...I really enjoyed myself. Like...damn.” I chuckled. 

She blushed deeper. “I’m not that great.”

“Don’t sell yourself short.”

We were quiet for a moment, before she eventually put her hand on mine. “What...are we?”

I blanched. “What...what? What do you mean?” I was hoping the shock in my voice wasn’t off-putting.

“I just...oh, I didn’t word that right, did I.” She laughed again. I noticed she did that a lot. “Um...are we okay? Are we friends? I’m...I’m not gross, right? That wasn’t weird?”

I gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. “I think friends having casual sex isn’t that weird, Alphys.”

She exhaled. “Good. We’re friends?”

“If you wanna be.”

“Yeah.” She looked up at me. “Yeah, I...I think I’d like that.”

“Well, then.” I stood. “Wanna forget about shit and play video games?”

She grinned. “Yeah! I set up th-this room for you and U-Undyne, so I picked things I thought you guys would like.” She twiddled her thumbs. “Um...quick question, though.”

“What’s up?”

“Could we...forget about all that? The, um...what we did. I’m kinda...interested in someone, see. And...it’s kinda mean of me, but in a way...I feel like I was...replacing her with you? Like...”

“I think that’s pretty normal,” I said. “I mean...I definitely was, too,” I admitted with a laugh.

“It’s...Undyne, isn’t it.” Alphys wouldn’t look at me. 

“Yeah, but…” I sighed. “I don’t know.” How was I supposed to tell Alphys about how much my heart hurt? I decided to try my best. “Like, two days ago, my girlfriend of three years broke up with me.”

“Oh. That...really sucks.”

“It did. She got pregnant. She’d been having an affair for, like, forever. Too much of a pussy to break it off like a real woman.”

“Oh, geez. No wonder you wanted a rebound.”

“I just...needed something, I guess? Kinda like you.”

“I guess...if this was just a one-off thing, it’s okay?”

I shrugged. “It’s whatever, dude. So video games?”

“Yeah! Um. So I figured you’d like shooters, so there’s lots of those. And ones with, like, equal opportunity armor, where all genders have the same armor, so it’s not pandering…”

She went on about the video games she left in the room, but a question still stuck in my mind. “Hey, Alphys…”

“Yeah?”

“You said that...this is my room _and_ Undyne’s room.”

“Oh! Yeah. Um. Part of you two, like, defeating the Time Being means you two have to, like...form a really close bond. The, um, entities you two were before you reincarnated were lovers, but...you don’t gotta be lovers, too, if that’s weird. I don’t know. Is that weird?”

I shrugged. “I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t interested, but...I don’t know her really well. And she respects me too much to pursue anything. Undyne’s been a good friend. Maybe someday, we’ll be something. That’d be really cool. But I don’t really like planning ahead.”

“That’s fair...honestly, the Undyne from this timeline?”

“Wait, there’s another Undyne?”

“Y-yeah. She’s really cool. She hangs out here a lot. You’ll probably meet her.”

“Aren’t I not supposed to be seen?”

Alphys worried her lip. “Did the other Alphys tell you that?”

“Yeah, she was super serious about it.”

“She is... _was_...kinda serious about everything. She seems to think it’ll cause a singularity if people from different timelines were to meet. Outside of us Alphyses, that is. I don’t think that’s true. Time isn’t that cut and dry. It’s very fluid and easily manipulated. But anyway...I really like her.”

I didn’t really know what she meant by time being fluid, but I figured if I asked, she’d get into a really long explanation, and I was too tired to focus on anything important. “Are you two, like, a thing?”

Alphys’ eyes widened. “Oh, god, no! She’d never be interested in someone like me.” She brought her knees to her chest again, wrapping her tail around her like a security blanket. “I just...try to be a good friend. And don’t tell her anything that’d scare her off. And make her think I’m cool. So she’s happy. And like...because you’re so similar to her, it was like...I could pretend you were her, for a moment. It’s not like she’s gonna be begging for me to fuck her. Or anyone, really. You wanted me, and I desperately wanted her to hold me, and you were there, and...” She sighed. “I’m garbage. And now that I’ve said all that...wow, I really screwed this up. Our friendship and everything because I’m thirsty.” She hugged her body tighter. “I guess I’d really just...fuck anyone who wants me. Being wanted is a turn-on. I have no standards.” She gasped. “Oh my god, that sounds way worse now that I’ve said that, too. I’m...talking too much. I keep doing this thing where I start talking, and then I realize I’m talking, and you’re not saying anything, so I keep talking to keep it from being awkward, but now it’s really awkward--”

“Dude, it’s all good, I already told you!” I exclaimed, cutting her off. Then I realized that my voice did the thing where it came out way too loud, and I sounded aggressive. Groaning inwardly, I continued, desperately trying to keep my voice low, “We used each other’s bodies. Big fucking deal. And we’re friends now! Nothing’s fucked up. But...what would scare Undyne off? It’s not like anything really scares her.”

Alphys shifted. “Didn’t you wanna play video games?”

I crossed my arms and repeated my question. “You can’t just drop a bomb like that and expect me not to ask.”

“Yeah, but…” Her voice trailed off. Something about her eyes just...didn’t seem right, like something behind them was darkened, not her usual tearful worries. They reminded me of my own, someone who had seen too much too soon.

Alphys was a fragile person, that much was obvious to me, so I decided not to press. “It’s okay,” I decided. “You don’t gotta talk about it.”

“Thanks.” Her entire body exhaled.

“Say...where is Dr. Al anyway? And how did I get here? And where’s everyone else?”

“Oh! I’m...really bad at explaining things,” she said with a nervous giggle. “Well...I renovated the lab before you guys got here, making enough rooms for you guys. Kris and Ralsei in the room next to you, you and Undyne in this one, and, well, I didn’t plan on one for Lancer, so he’s just crashing on the couch in the living room, but that’s okay, because it folds out. I sleep two stories up. I don’t think Dr. Al sleeps.” She shuddered. “At least, I’ve never seen her sleep. I don’t know where she is, either. She kinda...disappeared after the...incident.” She curled into a tighter ball. “I’m...really sorry about all of that.”

“You really don’t gotta be. It’s not your fault. Besides, I’m used to it.”

Horror struck her face. “P-please don’t say that!” Alphys said, her voice a bit more raised than I expected, making me jump a little. 

“Why? It’s true!”

“I--”

There was a harsh rapping on the door, cutting Alphys off. 

“Who is it?” I called out.

The door swung open. “Who the _fuck_ are you?” The voice behind the threshold asked, voice sharp.

It was--and somehow wasn’t--Undyne. She was thinner than the Undyne I knew, her hair up in a neater ponytail, an eyepatch over her left eye. She wore a tanktop, skin-tight jeans, boots, and was covered in either sweat or water, I couldn’t tell which.

“Wait…” Her visible eye narrowed in confusion. “How are you...Who are…”

“Hi, Undyne!” Alphys said a little too quickly, scrambling out of her position to meet her “friend.” “How did you find me down here?”

Not-Undyne held her head and groaned. “I’m so fucking confused.”

“What’s wrong?”

“Well! I _thought_ you were upstairs, working on some robotics project, but you were, like, acting really weird? And you kept petting my arm? And then you said to come down here, to this room, so I did? I figured you wanted to show me something, but you didn’t follow me, and now...you’re here? Why are there two Alphyses?”

“Oh, man.” Alphys sighed.

Not-Undyne stepped closer to me, her teeth bared. “And who the _fuck_ are you? Are you two…” She looked between us. “Why does it smell like cigarettes?”

I stood and held out my hand. “I’m Susie.”

“Undyne…” she replied, taking my hand and giving it a firm shake. “Have...we met?”

I felt sweat crawl down my neck. “Um...Alphys? Do you wanna…”

“Yes!” She took Not-Undyne’s hand, forcing our hands apart. “Let’s...go have some tea. I’ll...explain everything!”

“You fucking better!” Not-Undyne shouted, though she didn’t seem angry, just confused.

And the not-couple left me alone to my thoughts, my cigarettes, and plenty of shooters.

I picked up a controller.

It’d been a long time since I was able to afford a console of my own; I usually just crashed at Kris’ place and used theirs, before they went off to college like a total asshole. I picked the one with a female protagonist--that was very important, and looked like the one Alphys was talking about with the equal opportunity armor--and started while finishing the cigarette on the windowsill. 

But as I played, I really started to worry. Maybe it was the cigarette on an empty stomach, but it felt more like anxiety than nausea.

I paused the game, found my regular clothes in a laundry hamper in the corner of the room, and decided to go on a walk. If it didn’t matter if I was seen, I figured...I might as well have some fun to ebb the anxiety.


	17. I Remember Stupid Shit

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Susie is reminded of some uncomfortable things, thanks to Dr. Al.
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**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As per usual, this is two chapters behind, so I've been done with Chapter 16 since...way before Christmas! But here it is, finally, public for y'all!
> 
> Entry shoutouts!  
> Geckota   
> Cover: [dA](https://www.deviantart.com/geckota/art/Cover-Contest-Entry-775003826)   
> I’m Sorry, Susie: [dA](https://www.deviantart.com/geckota/art/I-m-sorry-Susie-774497432)  
> NSFW Fanart:  
> Seafood Dinner: [dA](https://www.deviantart.com/geckota/art/Seafood-Dinner-775569097)   
> You Want To Make This Weird? (Speedpaint): [dA](https://www.deviantart.com/geckota/art/Undyne-Speedpaint-2-776299447)  
> Showering Susie: [dA](https://www.deviantart.com/geckota/art/Susie-Speedpaint-776394469)  
> Susyne: [dA](https://www.deviantart.com/geckota/art/Susyne-777322106)
> 
> Kimera   
> Cover: [Twitter](https://twitter.com/AlfaKimera/status/1070448383696011272) [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/p/BrBdHDvls1r/)  
> Smooch!: [Twitter](https://twitter.com/theshutendouji/status/1070480570046603264) [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/p/BrBsUk6hv6z/)  
> NSFW Fanart:  
> Sensual Susyne: [Twitter](https://twitter.com/spooky_su/status/1070410191181557760) [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/p/BrBMSs6BPNx//)  
> Spear of Fuckstice: [Twitter](https://twitter.com/spooky_su/status/1073388486198063104) [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/p/BrWYBm9hOC0/)
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I managed to find my way out of the lab with no issue; just through the living room and up the escalator, to the right, and out the door, where the heat met me. Everything looked the same as it did when we arrived, though there were more people milling about. Someone was selling hot dogs at a stand covered in snow, and I couldn’t help but wonder how the snow stayed on the roof when it was so hot. I also noticed monster kids in school uniforms, like the ones I saw in TV or among the rich kids that would try to pick on me when I was younger, but nothing about the kids seemed privileged or mean, just regular monsters going to their regular school.

I lit a new cigarette and followed a path to where the boat person was before, though there were no people or boats to be seen in the lava, just myself and my very confused reflection. My hair was a mess--but when wasn’t it?--and with my dark circles and strange neck bruises, I looked like someone who was hungover and straight from a fuck.

But I didn’t necessarily feel the way I would have if I had simply had too much to drink and had a one night stand. 

I felt...gross, like I hadn’t showered in weeks, like somehow my insides had been replaced with slime, sticking to my intestines and slowing my bloodflow to a sickening pace, something like molasses a month or two before it crystalized. 

I felt...violated, and I wasn’t a stranger to this feeling. I sighed and ran fingers through the mess on my head I called hair, wishing that feeling could just stay in the past where it belonged. Stay with the hellacious foster homes and strange father-figures I dealt with.

To put it bluntly, I felt as though I had been raped. Not because of Alphys--none of this was her fault, and I quite liked her--but because of the  _ other version of her _ . The drugging. The look in her eyes. The pure  _ torture  _ that state put me in.

_ It’s nothing you haven’t been through before, Susie, _ I told myself, repeating like a fucked-up mantra.  _ You survived then, and you’ll survive now. _

But that didn’t stop me from shaking, didn’t stop me from falling to my knees, didn’t stop the hot tears catching in my bangs before dropping to the ground with a sizzle.

_ “Take it off.” _

_ “But I don’t want to!” _

_ “What are you to me, if you won’t give me what you want?” _

Oh, fuck. The flashbacks were back. Fucking wonderful.

I laid on my stomach and dragged my hand in the lava, tears already streaming from my eyes as the altered state took over. 

_ “Take it off, or I’ll cut it off of you.” The familiar click of a switchblade hung in the air, cutting through the silence and the fabric of my hand-me-downs. _

They always made demands of me, but never gave space for answers. Their weapons spoke louder than any words, from the guns to my head, the blades to my clothes, to the worst of all: the one between their legs, and eventually, mine.

_ “If you weren’t such a piece of shit, this wouldn’t have to happen to you so often. Why can’t you be more like your sister?” Before I could answer, I’d hear, “Oh, that’s right. ‘Cause she’s not really your sister. You’re not even really family, just another mouth to feed, another hole to fill. You are nothing.” _

For a long time, I didn’t fight back, and when I tried, I’d be guilted out of it.

_ “No one likes girls who fight, Susan. That’s not very ladylike. Know your fucking place.” _

Or, my personal favorite.

_ “You’d hit me? After all I’ve done for you? The food I’ve put on your plate, the clothes on your ungrateful back, the rides I’ve given you to the school you like to fuck off in so much? Pitiful little piece of shit.” _

It was no surprise that I eventually turned to violence, despite my warnings. What did I have to lose? No one liked me anyway. My siblings who weren’t my siblings didn’t get along with me, and we fought constantly. I didn’t have any friends, and the ones I did make disappeared out of my life without warning. As I got older and interested in girls, I couldn’t handle intimacy at all. I’d freeze up at the slightest touch of the hand, a hug, a kiss. I couldn’t be fucking normal, and I was nothing, no one to anyone. A waste of space. But somewhere, deep in that fire within me, I felt as though I was a piece of shit worth fighting for, and if no one would fight for me, I’d do it myself.

I had turned from timid, tiny Susan, who everyone pushed around, who spent her time reading weird books and comics and being socially awkward, to Violent Susie, with her first truancy officer at twelve. I’d moved schools, moved from family to family, house to house more rapidly than ever, until eventually, I had to do schoolwork online because one of my foster families felt I was a “danger to other kids” and a “juvenile delinquent.” 

That didn’t stop my delinquency, though. 

Nothing fucking did. 

My attitude toward girls changed as I entered adolescence, from being terrified of physical contact to craving it to the point of addiction, having multiple sexual partners at once but avoiding relationships like the diseases I probably would’ve caught had I been into guys. I was a bad girl, after all. And girls  _ loved _ it...until they tried to fix me and say it was for love, which was when I’d run as fast as possible from them.

I didn’t have friends, though. I’d have people I’d casually smoke all sorts of illegal substances with in abandoned buildings that we’d trash, but I’d hardly call them friends, especially since they didn’t try to keep up with me when I moved to Hometown.

And that wasn’t even touching the weird lives I had with various families. 

One was a religious, suburban family, where I’d be forced to eat tabasco sauce when I said things they didn’t like, or kneel in bleach when I didn’t do their slave labor for them well enough, or “pick your branch” when they felt the need to get their anger out, or watch their biological child get all their love and praise while I stuck to the shadows, popping pills to stay sane. I went back to that family a lot, actually, for the system seemed to think they were a “good fit” for my character.

A family to fix Fucked Up Susie.

Another was a farmhouse, deep in the middle of nowhere, where I spent more time doing farm chores and tripping balls with the country kids than ever doing school assignments. They, too, were religious, but they were old, which was another reason I couldn’t stay.

Most houses weren’t memorable, just places I could crash on their couch until they were done with me smelling like cigarettes or eating their food. Aside from that, I had my birthmother (who the fuck knows where my dad is), who was always around creepy men who did strange things to me.

Strange things with weapons I wished I wasn’t familiar with. With weapons I cried myself to sleep at night as a young teen to forget about.

And then, there was Hometown.

I did have an assigned family there--a buncha drug dealers who were busted deep in one night, leaving me to my own devices and surviving the streets, which I was no stranger to with the amount of times I tried to run from my foster homes. After I shoved my foster father into a drywall for getting too close to my face and running into the streets barefoot, I was brought there as a place to start over. After all, I’d been expelled from everywhere, even the online places to study, and it was a sort of last resort thing.

Who else would’ve taken me, right?

It didn’t take long for me to find trouble in Hometown, either, mostly because I moved into it. I had tried to repress the weeks without running water, the empty syringes, the overdose scares, the random meth-induced Let’s Beat Up Susie games, the mornings I’d wake up with someone else’s hands in my pants, until finally, me running out into the street got the police attention on the dealers and put them away.

I was eighteen at this point, so their rental agreement got slapped on me, thanks to Carol Holiday, Noelle’s nightmare mother. I was in high school, with no skills aside from smuggling and selling drugs, so that’s exactly what I did. Sure, this was a town full of good church-going folk, but they all had their vices, and it was so easy to pick them out.

I managed to keep rent paid until I graduated, and at that point, I moved in with Noelle. When that went south, I got a place with Catti, who informed me that she figured “the bad girl and the good girl together was doomed to fail from the start,” until I ended up wherever the fuck I was now.

As my breathing started to calm down to the point I could inhale more smoke--not tobacco this time, but something far more relaxing, an “herbal remedy,” as my birthmother would call it--I realized something. 

Undyne was the chief of police when I was eighteen.

She didn’t bust me.

She  _ knew  _ I was in on the dealing.

And she did nothing.

She had been...on my side this whole time.

“Hey, Susie!”

I sat up from my strange laying position and looked up the road to see none other than Undyne herself. Her hair was tied up in a high ponytail, and she looked as though she had been exercising, with her side-cropped tanktop and her shorts. Or maybe she was just dressed that way for the heat.

“You okay?” she asked, doing a half-jog toward me.

I shrugged. I hadn’t figured out how to make my mouth work yet.

“Is that weed?” she asked, sitting next to me.

I nodded. Here was the moment to test my theory.

“Do you share?” she held out her hand.

Slowly, shakily, I handed her the joint, and she took a drag. She winced, coughed, and handed it back.

“I’ve got a low tolerance, but...figured I might as well, considering.” She emitted a low chuckle. “Why are you smoking so far away? What are you doing up so early?”

I swallowed and managed a hoarse, “Is it early?”

Undyne reached into her back pocket to check her phone. It wasn’t the one she previously used, but something almost looking handmade, with the rough cuts of the metal on the side. “It’s seven, right now. I’ve been up since five, jogging around waterfall. Wanted to check the place out.”

“Where did you get that?” I asked, fixing my dizzy, dry eyes on the phone.

“This?” Undyne gave it a wiggle. “Got it from Dr. Al this morning. Didn’t you get one too?”

“No,” I said through my teeth. “All I got was a fucking roofie and a migraine.”

“Wait a second.” Her eyebrows furrowed, and she crossed her arms. “Roofied? Who drugged you.”

“Same bitch who made your phone.”

Her eyes widened. “Tell me everything.”

So I did. Angrily, and riddled with profanity. I told her about my glass of beer and what was in it, where Dr. Al lead me, how Alphys tried to help but I asked her to fuck me so she did, and how I woke up in my room.

“Dr. Al fucking...slipped you an aphrodisiac.”

“Yes.”

“And said it was because she couldn’t have me?”

“I don’t know if it’s you specifically, or just all timeline Undynes, but yeah.”

“So she left you in a room to literally fuck yourself.”

“Yep.”

“And the other Alphys...helped out.”

“Yeah.”

“Holy shit.” She rubbed her eyes in thought and was quiet for a minute. Then, a steely quiet voice broke out of her, a cold anger I’d never heard such a passionate person ever emit. “I know where Dr. Al is. And I’m gonna fucking kill her.”


	18. Life Prepares to Kill

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Undyne has strong feelings about what happened to Susie.
> 
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> 
> [[Join the Cover Contest for free updates, including private livestreams, as chapters of OFC come out!](https://spookysu.carrd.co/#ofccontest)] 
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> 
> [[Talk with other fans in my Discord server!](https://discord.gg/U5RwYNm)]

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As per usual, this is two chapters behind! I'm doing some commissions, so these chapters are coming out a LITTLE slower now, and I'm sorry for that!
> 
> Entry shoutouts!  
> Geckota  
> Cover: [dA](https://www.deviantart.com/geckota/art/Cover-Contest-Entry-775003826)  
> I’m Sorry, Susie: [dA](https://www.deviantart.com/geckota/art/I-m-sorry-Susie-774497432)  
> NSFW Fanart:  
> Seafood Dinner: [dA](https://www.deviantart.com/geckota/art/Seafood-Dinner-775569097)  
> You Want To Make This Weird? (Speedpaint): [dA](https://www.deviantart.com/geckota/art/Undyne-Speedpaint-2-776299447)  
> Showering Susie: [dA](https://www.deviantart.com/geckota/art/Susie-Speedpaint-776394469)  
> Susyne: [dA](https://www.deviantart.com/geckota/art/Susyne-777322106)
> 
> Kimera  
> Cover: [Twitter](https://twitter.com/AlfaKimera/status/1070448383696011272) [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/p/BrBdHDvls1r/)  
> Smooch!: [Twitter](https://twitter.com/theshutendouji/status/1070480570046603264) [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/p/BrBsUk6hv6z/)  
> NSFW Fanart:  
> Sensual Susyne: [Twitter](https://twitter.com/spooky_su/status/1070410191181557760) [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/p/BrBMSs6BPNx//)  
> Spear of Fuckstice: [Twitter](https://twitter.com/spooky_su/status/1073388486198063104) [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/p/BrWYBm9hOC0/)
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Undyne was a woman of many things. Feisty at times, often loud and opinionated, but never cruel or angry, somehow. The way her passion for life and fighting for justice balanced with her need for harmony among friends and need to protect others managed to fit so perfectly into the role of a fantasy novel’s hero, or maybe a knight in shining armor.

That being said, she wasn’t an angry person. And if she  _ was _ angry, there had to be good reason for it. At the end of the day, all Undyne seemed to want was to fight the good fight--which was a fair one among comrades--and go home to have fun. There was little room in all that created Undyne’s Soul for reckless hatred.

Needless to say, this was the first time I’d ever seen Undyne actually  _ mad. _

Which means this was easily the first time I’d been genuinely  _ terrified _ .

“I’ll show that little lizard bitch,” she grumbled, though it didn’t seem like she was talking to me. She summoned one of her spears and flicked it, as though miming how she was going to decapitate Dr. Al. “I’ll show her what we do with rapists.”

I could feel pure energy reverberating off of her, in rhythm with what I assumed was her heartbeat. The hot wind of Hotland began to howl with her rage as her eyes brightened. 

“She’s in what she called the Core,” Undyne explained to me behind gritted teeth. “The area that powers all of the Underground. She’s trying to get energy for a generator for...something, I don’t know. Weird science shit.”

I nodded, my mouth feeling drier than after chalk snacks. I was hardly a logical person, but I couldn’t help but wonder what would happen if she actually did kill Dr. Al. Obviously, I wanted the little cunt dead, too, but Alphys clearly had her around for a reason. She must have knowledge or abilities we’d need to defeat the Time Being.

But I still didn’t say anything about that.

Instead, I asked, “Undyne...why do you care so much? It’s not that big of a deal. I’ve been through worse.”

Undyne snorted. “I’m sure. Haven’t we all? But that doesn’t make what happened  _ remotely _ okay.” She flicked her spear some more, scattering dust into the nearby lava, off the bridge we were crossing. “Look, Susie. You better get used to someone caring about you. Because I sure fucking do.”

Normally, I wasn’t one to give too much of a shit about what people told me. For starters, it was rarely true; people often talked to hear their own voices, or to justify their own flawed logic and emotions. But Undyne was the type to say exactly what she meant, and it helped stabilize my breathing a bit, despite the circumstances. 

Even so, I wasn’t sure what to say. She always left me speechless, breathless in a way that wasn’t just me being flustered, but more that her words left little room for questions. It was...comforting. 

We had arrived at the Core at this point, the iron doors sliding open as we approached. If I had thought the lab of the Alphyses was futuristic, then I was wrong, for this was completely a realm of its own. I could feel the ground moving on its own, as thought the building were a stack of playing cards, shuffling.

It didn’t look like anyone was inside the building to be shuffling it, though, which made me wonder if Dr. Al knew what was coming and was concealing herself. 

“Okay,” Undyne said before clearing her throat. “Where the FUCK are you?”

Some strange noises responded, the building shifting, but no words.

“WE CAN DO THIS THE EASY WAY, OR THE HARD WAY, DOC.”

Still no response.

“I don’t think Dr. Al is the type to fight head-on,” I offered.

Undyne made an annoyed throat sound. “She will be when I’m done with her. C’mon.”

I sighed and shuffled behind her, somehow feeling as though this fight wasn’t worth it, which was odd, considering my reputation. I was  _ always _ ready to fight. 

It wasn’t like I was  _ scared _ of her or anything.

So we wandered through the various corridors, Undyne shouting on occasion and tearing shit off of the walls to assert that she was here and ready to kill, but with the way the Core made itself into a sort of maze, we ended up just walking in circles.

“I CAN’T let her win,” Undyne complained. 

I wasn’t sure what to say to that either. Quiet people always pissed me off, but me being quiet was even more aggravating. What the fuck was  _ wrong _ with me?

Unsure, I reached for my cigarettes. That at least made sense. But before I could light it, a voice spoke. 

“D-don’t smoke in the Core!”

I jumped, dropping my lighter with a clatter as it slid away from me. An Alphys-shaped figure was at the end of the hall, slowly coming closer to us.

Undyne summoned a spear. “Why did you do this?” she asked, her voice switching from unbridled rage to a steely calm.

When the light illuminated the figure, it was only the regular, non-fucked-up Alphys, holding her hands up in surrender. “I? What do you…”

Undyne dissolved her spears. “Sorry. Where’s the other you?”

Alphys swallowed and fidgeted with her lab coat. “She’s...well. I don’t know, actually. I know that she comes here sometimes for...s-supplies or something. But she never tells me what for. If you haven’t found her yet, she’s...probably left by now. The C-Core scrambles itself on occasion, b-but it’s not that big, really.”

Undyne plopped herself on the floor with a groan, resting her head on her knees for a second. “I failed,” she muttered.

“What?”

“You heard me.” She looked up at me, eyes flashing. “I failed. I was supposed to...make sure this kinda shit didn’t happen to you anymore and…”

Alphys and I exchanged looks for a moment, before Alphys finally said, “As much as it would be...really great to watch you kill Dr. Al, she’s kinda...necessary.”

“Why?” Undyne slammed a spear into the ground. “Why is something like  _ that _ necessary? The fuck has she done for you? For us?”

“I! I’m not saying I...l-like her. I really hate working with her, r-really. Just that...her world was destroyed b-by the same entity we’re fighting. She’s...the only one who survived. She brought her technology from her w-world and...she’s the only reason I’ve been able to talk to the other Alphyses and...be able to connect with you guys. Without her...we’d all be dead.”

The room was silent for a moment, save for the few sciency sounds in the background.

“So...what now?” Undyne leaned against her spear, one knee up, a sort of defeated warrior pose. “Am I supposed to just...let her walk all over Susie? Let her hurt her because she’s ‘necessary?’ If anything, she needs to be put in her place!”

“But how!” Alphys seemed to startle herself out of her outburst, and she covered her mouth. “I...I’m sorry, Undyne, I just...if we scare her off, she won’t help us anymore. She has the capability to destroy us all, if she so desires it. Maybe...maybe we should be patient?”

“I don’t have patience,” I said finally, lighting my cigarette despite Alphys’ protests. “And I don’t have respect for rapists.”

“So you’re on my side?” Undyne asked, looking up at me with watery eyes.

“I don’t know,” I exhaled, speaking into the smoke. “Something about hurting her also...doesn’t feel right. I’m probably just damaged.”

There was a strange look in Alphys’ eyes then when she looked at me...hurt? Relatability? I wasn’t sure. It made me wonder what all Dr. Al had done to Alphys, and knowing her, their connection couldn’t be light, no matter what technology or intelligence Dr. Al brought her. 

The Core began to shift again, and I actually began to recognize where we were being transported to. We had been moved to the front of the building, and the front doors were opening. 

Undyne summoned a spear for her other hand and stood, at the ready. I decided to attempt to summon my axe, too, because it felt right, and I figured maybe I could settle my unease by holding a weapon again. The pain of calluses or the feel of blood splattering did have a way of settling one’s mind, in my opinion, but maybe those were just Death Feelings or some shit.

But I didn’t get to feel much of either, because the person entering the Core wasn’t Dr. Al. It wasn’t an employee of the Core, either.

It was Kris.

“There you are,” they said. They looked exhausted, their hair messier than usual, as if they hadn’t bothered looking for a comb in the last decade. They also were still wearing the same clothes I had seen them in during the last two days, as if Alphys didn’t grace them with the same clothes gifts. 

Surprisingly, though, as they approached, they didn’t smell as rank as they should have, considering.

“The fuck are you doing here?” I asked, lowering my axe.

They analyzed my weapon for a moment--or I assumed they did, because I couldn’t see their eyes, as usual. “Were you guys...expecting someone?”

I sighed and materialized the axe. “I’ll...catch you up on some things.” But when I began to tell them what happened with Dr. Al, Undyne interrupted, filling them in with the things she had done to me, her speech ridden with profanity and anger very unlike her.

“It’s really not that bad,” I insisted, “I just have...issues, y’know?”

“She drugged you, Susie,” Kris said.

“So? I’ve been drugged so many times that I should be immune to it.”

“That’s...not how that works,” Alphys corrected, tucking her hands in her sleeve. 

Kris looked like they didn’t know what to say for a moment, and after a few moments of shifting between their feet, they embraced me. 

I never knew how to react to hugs. They always made my throat feel kinda weird, as though I suddenly had allergies and my throat was swelling. I never knew how to hug back, either, because I tended to be eye-level with everyone’s chests and felt weirdly perverted about hugging back due to my placement relative to other’s bodies. 

Kris and I had hugged a few times before--not because I asked, but because they were a person who spoke more through action and less through words. I tended to hold my breath, as though the lump in my throat would spill through my eyes in definitely-allergy-driven waterworks, so this was the first time I actually allowed myself to breathe this close to my friend.

Hesitantly, I hugged them back.

They kinda smelled like books, in a way, which was weird because I really expected the unshowered-and-in-the-same-clothes Kris to smell like genderless sweat and sleepiness. But this was...comforting. I didn’t want to let go.

I felt Undyne rest her hand on my shoulder before embracing the both of us, lifting us off the ground with a pop of my ribs.

“Y’all are so cute,” she noted. 

I couldn’t speak. I was squished between my best friend and the monster I wish I didn’t fantasize about, and my heart was racing to the point my pulse was in my face and ears. I felt like I was gonna pass out, and before the darkness took over my eyes, Kris spoke.

“My da--um. The King wants to see you three. Dr. Al is already there.”

“Oh, that motherfucker,” Undyne said, dropping us unceremoniously on the ground. “Wait, the King?”

“The Underground is a monarchy,” Alphys explained. “The King uh…he knows about you all. Have you already met him, Kris?”

“Well, of course.” Kris adjusted their hair so one eye was slightly visible. “He’s my dad.”


	19. We Meet King Dad

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Title says it all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this has taken a bit to update! My wife (my Undyne inspo) isn't in very good health right now, and I've had to put a lot of my work off so I can take care of her. She has a really bad infection at the moment, so let's keep her in our thoughts and hope for a speedy recovery, and that her antibiotics won't kick her ass so badly!
> 
> OFC Fanart:  
> Geckota   
> Cover: [dA](https://www.deviantart.com/geckota/art/Cover-Contest-Entry-775003826)   
> I’m Sorry, Susie: [dA](https://www.deviantart.com/geckota/art/I-m-sorry-Susie-774497432)  
> NSFW Fanart:  
> Seafood Dinner: [dA](https://www.deviantart.com/geckota/art/Seafood-Dinner-775569097)   
> You Want To Make This Weird? (Speedpaint): [dA](https://www.deviantart.com/geckota/art/Undyne-Speedpaint-2-776299447)  
> Showering Susie: [dA](https://www.deviantart.com/geckota/art/Susie-Speedpaint-776394469)  
> Susyne: [dA](https://www.deviantart.com/geckota/art/Susyne-777322106)
> 
> Kimera   
> Cover: [Twitter](https://twitter.com/AlfaKimera/status/1070448383696011272) [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/p/BrBdHDvls1r/)  
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> NSFW Fanart:  
> Sensual Susyne: [Twitter](https://twitter.com/spooky_su/status/1070410191181557760) [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/p/BrBMSs6BPNx//)  
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At Kris’ exclamation, Alphys began to stammer a bit. “You’re...the King had...Asriel…”

“Asriel is my brother. At least, in the world I came from. Asgore is...my dad. Not here, obviously, but. He somehow remembers me, even though this is...this isn’t the world where I’m his kid.”

“How did you...find him?” Alphys asked, eyebrows furrowed. “He lives in the castle, and that’s...not far from here, really, but it’s still…”

“He was in Hotland, looking for you guys. He wanted to get updates on your projects as well as start working on Undyne and Susie’s training. So we...talked for a while. He told me he recognized me but didn’t expect me to come, so I said that my dad’s name is Asgore.” Kris shrugged. “I guess it went from there.”

Alphys chewed on the inside of her thumb for a second, looking past and through Kris, as though she remembered something rather unpleasant in gory detail. We all watched her for a second, thinking she’d say something insightful, but she remained silent.

“Uh,” Kris interjected eventually. “We should...maybe...go see Asgore?”

“Oh!” Alphys snapped out of her daze instantly. “Yeah! L-Let’s! Do that!” And she pushed past us, through the Core’s front doors.

Kris and I exchanged looks for a moment, then shrugs, before following her.

But not for long, though.

“I...just realized that you’re the one who found him, Kris. You should...probably lead us?”

Kris visibly sighed, then led us back to the Alphys’ lab. 

Maybe it was because I was used to it, but walking back down to the Lab felt much faster than going to the Core. Undyne, however, didn’t seem to feel the same way, as she clung to my arm with clammy hands.

“Just a little longer,” she kept muttering to herself. 

Eventually, I ended up supporting her weight in general, which was awkward with our height difference, yet somehow, our bodies seemed to fit pretty well together.

“Do you need help?” Kris asked from the lead of the line.

I shook my head and gave Undyne’s clammy head a pat. She gave me a weak smile and nodded a thank you as we arrived in the lab.

The first thing I noticed was very clearly Kris’ dad, the flower shop owner in Hometown, wearing king’s robes and a strained smile as he sipped what looked like tea. Everything about him aside from the attire was exactly the same; the same, nerdy goat-dad with a heart of gold. 

I blinked rapidly for a moment as Undyne let go of me and found the last of her strength to leap into the kitchen for water. Asgore was the guy who decided to start packing me lunches--even with his own limited money--because Kris told him I’d go days without eating. He let me crash at his place sometimes, too, when I was adjusting to leaving foster care. He couldn’t afford to pay employees at the flower shop, but I  _ could _ volunteer, and since he was such a good guy, I couldn’t help but do so. We ended up becoming pretty close, after that…

But if all this didn’t work out, I’d never see the guy again. Instead, I’d be in this world--or no worlds altogether--with this fake Asgore.

Even so, his eyes lit up when he saw me. “Susie!”

I said something really intelligent, like, “Uh,” or something along that vein. 

He got up from his chair--despite Dr. Al’s protests, which made me notice her finally--and bounded toward me with all of his dad-energy, lifting me into a hug.

It took all my willpower to not cry. Asgore was the only somewhat-dadly figure I had, next to Noelle’s dad, but he was long dust. And even so, I saw Asgore a lot more, since I worked for him and honestly, spent a lot more time with Kris than I did Noelle.

Swallowing the lump in my throat, I managed a hoarse, “How do you know me?”

“Thanks to Dr. Al here,” he said, setting me down gently, “I’ve been keeping in touch with the other me.”

“Dr. Al didn’t invent that technology,” Alphys said. “It was...the Alphys of the world where you’re Kris’ dad.”

“Oh! Oh.” His face fell for a second. “But Al said--”

The kitchen doors swung open then, and Undyne stormed out, pouring a glass of water over herself before tossing it aside. The glass shattered with the impact on the tile floor. “YOU.”

Everyone in the room froze. 

Except Asgore.

“Howdy, Undyne!” he said.

She looked at him blankly. “Hi.” Then she fixed her eyes on Dr. Al, who looked as though she were fighting a smile. “You little  _ piece of shit _ .”

“Me?” Dr. Al said, mock-confusion.

“You know damn well what I’m talking about.” In a flurry of motion, Undyne grabbed her by the throat and pinned her against the wall. “Don’t you  _ EVER _ touch Susie  _ AGAIN _ .”

Whatever witty retort Dr. Al had was drowned out by her gasping for air, her straining to reach for something to wiggle out of her grasp.

Undyne didn’t let up. With her free hand, she punched her right in the face, knocking her already-cracked glasses off.

Alphys leaned over to me as we watched, no one really seeming to want to stop Undyne. “I  _ told _ her to magnetize her metal, but look where she is now!”

I squinted, unsure what to say and suddenly feeling really uncomfortable in the room. Part of me wanted to cheer Undyne on--after all, it was the first time anyone had bothered fighting my battles--but there was still a part of me that felt like it was  _ my _ fault.

Like every other assault and drugging.

It was always because of me.

Because of what I was wearing.

Because of my aggression.

Because I could never keep my damn mouth shut...

After a few more strikes and blood splattering the walls, Asgore put an arm on Undyne’s shoulder. “That’s enough.”

She seemed to register what she was doing at his touch, and she unceremoniously dropped the doctor to the ground, who wheezed and scrambled for her glasses.

“What is going on?” Asgore asked over Dr. Al’s labored breathing.

Undyne opened her mouth to speak, but Asgore was looking at me.

I wanted to disappear into the floor, but instead, I swallowed, and told him everything--about her fascination with any of the Undynes, about the beer, even about Alphys “taking care of me,” so to speak. 

As he always did--at least, in my home universe--he listened in silence, eventually sitting back down, face in his fuzzy hands as he thought.

“Are  _ you _ okay, Susie?” he asked finally.

I nodded. “More or less.”

“I’m going to  _ personally _ escort Dr. Al to the castle, where she can work under my close watch. She won’t bother you two anymore.”

“She wasn’t bothering me,” Undyne said.

“Yes, well, bothering one half of the legendary soul mates is enough, is it not?”

I looked over at Dr. Al, who spit out some of her blood and looked as though she were beaming, as though getting to the castle was exactly what she wanted. 

Alphys grabbed my arm, a strange look in her eyes.

She had noticed, too.

“When I return,” Asgore continued, “I’ll be talking about your training schedules, and we’ll get started on all that.”

“Training schedules?” Undyne asked.

“You won’t be able to defeat the Time Being without learning various forms of combat, now, will you?” He chuckled, a Dad Laugh identical to the one he had in my home universe. He stood and grabbed Dr. Al by the shoulder. She yelped, but still had that proud look in her eyes, which made Alphys tighten her grip. 

“Let’s all have dinner at my castle tonight,” Asgore decided aloud. “We’ll discuss everything there!”

“Sounds great!” Alphys squeaked. 

He gave her a wink, then turned to the rest of us. “I’ll see the rest of you around six. Though I know Susie will probably be late.”

I sheepishly tucked my hands in my pockets and laughed lightly. He really must’ve kept tabs on me with the other Asgore. I couldn’t be on time no matter how hard I tried.

“Well, see you tonight, friends!” And he escorted Dr. Al out.

As the door began to slide shut, she made eye contact with me and mouthed, “Wait for it.”

Wait for  _ what _ ?

Fuck that. I wasn’t waiting for whatever she had planned.

“Hey, Kris.”

They walked closer to me with a curious, “Hmm?”

“We’ve got a few hours. Wanna catch up and see what kinda food is in the Underground?”

“Food?” Undyne asked. “I’m coming.”

“You have fun,” Alphys said. “I have some, um, business to take care of before the meeting.”

“Business?” Undyne quirked an eyebrow.

“Yeah...I was supposed to get some reports in to Asgore by tonight and...I might’ve procrastinated. A lot. As in, I didn’t do anything.” She emitted a nervous giggle. “Why am I like this.” It wasn’t a question.

“That’s okay. I procrastinated all of high school,” I reassured her.

“You didn’t even go,” Kris reminded me.

“See? I procrastinated showing up!”

“Uh...huh…”

“But I still graduated, so it all worked out! You got this, dude!” I gave her a pat on the back.

She flushed a little, muttered something I couldn’t understand, and headed into the secret part of her lab, the area I recognized because of…

No. 

I wasn’t gonna think about that right now.

“So. Food?” Undyne asked. “I’m starving.”

“Let’s go track down my boyfriend and Lancer,” Kris suggested. “They should be around the lab somewhere…”


	20. I Defend My Favorite Human

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Susie and co get to know this universe's Undyne.
> 
> [[The Other Face of the Coin chapter/cross-site posting masterlist!](https://spookysu.carrd.co/#deltarune)]
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**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OFC is in the process of becoming a webcomic, and soon, its own original work! We have a double upload today for public and Patrons alike, and then I’ll be working on concept writing and art for the original, steampunk gothic universe OFC will be come, as well as the Deltarune fancomic. 
> 
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As a group, we seemed to come to the consensus that Lancer would be far easier to find than Ralsei, with his loud presence, and that he could probably point us to the direction of the Dark Prince, so we looked for him first. 

He was in the living room area, yelling half-profanities at the tv as he played a video game I didn’t recognize. 

I grabbed the collar of his shirt. “Let’s go, nerd. We’re getting food.”

“Oh, food!” He turned off the console and stood. “Where’s the food?”

Nobody said a word for a moment.

Surprisingly, it was Kris who broke the silence. “I heard there’s a nice bar and grill in Snowdin?”

“How the fuck do we get to Snowdin?”

I couldn’t see their eyes, but I could feel their tired gaze boring into me. “The boat, Susie. The one we took from Waterfall goes to other towns in the Underground.

“Oh.” Of course, the boat. “How do you know that, anyway?”

“Ralsei and I went there last night. They have good cheese fries.”

“Speaking of...where is Ralsei?” I asked Lancer.

“Think he left a bit ago to talk to someone. The fish lady who’s your girlfriend.” Lancer pondered this for a moment. “Maybe that’s a different fish lady. I’m confused.”

Heat rushed to my face, and I heard our universe’s Undyne laughing behind me. “She’s  _ not _ my  _ girlfriend _ , Lancer!”

“You said that last time, about Noelle! And made the same face!”

“I’ll literally kill you.”

“You won’t. You can’t.” He stuck his tongue out.

There was a bit of shuffling down the hall, and the absolutely-not-my-girlfriend-Undyne from the Underground arrived with Ralsei. It was jarring how similar she looked to the Undyne I knew--same height, same ponytail, same grin. The most stark difference was the fact that this world’s Undyne had an eyepatch, and a very ugly scar poking out from beneath it. 

“Hello, friends!” Ralsei greeted, pattering closer to us, his cloak swooshing behind him with his speed. “I’ve been catching up with this Undyne! I’ve heard about her from Alphys, from our world!”

Underground Undyne’s one good eye was fixed on me, her face twisted in a facial expression I couldn’t quite decipher. Then she smiled before focusing on the Undyne behind me.

“You.”

Hometown Undyne made a nervous sound. “Oh, this is so much more awkward than I thought this would be.”

I scooted out of the way for the Undynes to approach each other. They stared for a while, mirrored each other’s movements in confusion, laughed a few times, and then…

It was Underground Undyne who struck first, without warning.

“Hey!” Ralsei yelped, dodging an energy spear and ducking behind Kris, who didn’t do anything aside from stuff their hands in their pockets.

“You should probably wait for other people to get out of the way before doing that,” Hometown Undyne commented, deflecting the energy spear with one of her own before throwing it back. “But hey, what’s the fun in that, right?”

“Oh no,” Ralsei groaned.

“Shit,” I muttered. “This is fucking awesome. I wish I could fight myself.”

“Hah!” Hometown Undyne chuckled. “I don’t think we’d have an Underground left if there were two of you. But yeah, it’s pretty sweet, huh?”

It was hard to tell whose spears were whose, at this point, but even when they did eventually get hit by them, the spears shattered on impact. The Undynes seemed to have no real intention of harming each other, just seeing what the other was capable of. 

That didn’t stop Ralsei from complaining. “This is worse than babysitting Susie!” he complained, hugging his knees under his cloak.

“It’s really not,” Kris noted. “The Lab would’ve been destroyed by now.”

“Hey!” I retorted.

The Undynes seemed to notice that their audience was distracted, and the spears minimized before they fistbumped each other. 

“You’re alright,” they said in unison, “but could be better.”

“Can we! Eat now!” Ralsei whined.

“Aw, cheer up, goat boy,” Underground Undyne commented, tugging on his ear. “It’s just a spar between friends! Or something.” The Undynes looked at each other for a moment. “Sisters?”

“Yeah. Yeah! Like twins!”

“Well, do you mind if I tag along, too?” Underground Undyne asked. “I should pick Alphys up some food. She won’t eat unless I make her. And I don’t think ramen counts as food.”

“Sure,” I said. “You can show us all around, too, since you’re from here.”

“Aw, that sounds great! I never get to show people around. Everyone kinda...knows each other here. And everything’s the same. But I can introduce y’all to some friends of mine!”

“I know the feeling,” Hometown Undyne said as we departed the lab. “I’m a police officer in a town of, like...I think there’s  _ technically _ two hundred people, but most live in the countryside surrounding, so I don’t even see most of them. It’s nice to have something different for once.”

“Wow, we have, like...the same life. I’m guessing the Royal Guard is like what cops do on the surface. But...from the human history Alphys has shown me, human cops tend to be pretty useless and get blown up a lot.”

Hometown Undyne quirked an eyebrow. “Human history?”

“Yeah! She’s got loads of these movies and videos from the human world…they’ve got some rad history!” Underground Undyne turned to Kris. “You’re human, yeah?”

Kris nodded. 

My stomach churned.  _ She better not fucking ask them about being human. _

“So what’s it like? In the human world?”

_ Fuck _ .

“I don’t know,” they said quietly. “I’ve lived with monsters my whole life.”

“But you...live on the surface.”

“Not exactly,” Ralsei offered. “Most of us live on the surface, sure, but in a world parallel to this one. A world where, instead of being forced underground, monsters were sent to live in segregated communities. Lancer and I live in a shadow world of that world, underground and away from humanity or...anyone, really...like you.”

“So how did…?”

“I was abandoned. My parents found me as a baby, left to die outside the town. Guess they thought I’d be eaten or something. But instead of killing me, the monsters raised me as their own.” I could see Kris’ eyes peeking out beneath their bangs, the blood red that always sent chills down my spine. “I don’t know anything about humanity, and I don’t care to.”

Underground Undyne shifted uncomfortably before murmuring, “Jeez, I’m sorry, dude. I shouldn’t’ve--”

“It’s okay. You were excited, and you didn’t know. I’m guessing you don’t see a lot of humans down here.”

Something in Underground Undyne’s look shifted, then, as though she was seeing something she had long forgotten, like I had a few hours prior. “No, not really.” Her voice was barely a whisper, a much higher pitch than she normally spoke in. 

I wondered what she  _ had _ seen of humanity, but I decided it wasn’t the right time to ask. My universe’s Undyne was kind and easy to talk to, but something about this Undyne seemed a bit more hardened, a bit more terrifying. With time, I figured I could get her side of the story, but for now…

My stomach growled. 

“Well, look at that! We’ve arrived at the dock, and the boat is here! What timing, huh!” Ralsei said quickly, gesturing to the boat. “Let’s get food!”

We got on the boat--me helping Lancer, who seemed really concerned about the lava and kinda froze up at the sight of it--and Underground Undyne gave the instructions to Snowdin.

“Snowdin? Really sucks, by the way,” she told the other Undyne. “You’re gonna freeze.”

“Dammit. I hate cold things.”

“Same! Cold in any capacity.”

“Exactly!”

“I left some sweatshirts at Papyrus’ house. We can pick some up when we get there. He doesn’t live far from Grillby’s.”

“That’s...the restaurant, I’m guessing? Grillby’s?”

“Yeah.”

“So who’s Papyrus?”

Underground Undyne sighed for a moment, as though she were trying to find the words to describe the entity that was Papyrus. “He’s...sure something!” she said finally. “This kid who stood at my doorway all night, demanding training for the Royal Guard. He’s pretty sweet. You’ll love him. Everyone does.”

“He seems determined.”

“Very! But motivated by all the wrong things.” Underground Undyne chuckled. “He’s...he wants to be in the Royal Guard for friendship and popularity. I don’t think he could, like, handle what the Royal Guard really entails.”

“What...does the Royal Guard entail?” I asked finally. 

Underground Undyne shifted her feet uncomfortably. “I’ll...I’ll leave that to Asgore to tell you.” There was that look in her eye again.

“What, you supposed to eradicate humanity or something?”

The boat became eerily silent.

“Oh my,” the ferryperson said. “Someone likes to say it as it is, doesn’t she?”

“Please shut up, Susie,” Kris murmured to me.

“No, seriously, is that what you do?” I found myself putting an arm around Kris. “You kill humans.”

For a second, it looked as though I had  _ really _ pissed Underground Undyne off, with the scowl on her face. But I didn’t care. All I knew was I wasn’t leaving Kris alone with her. 

But instead of yelling at me or conjuring spears, she chuckled lightly. “You really wanna know?”

“Yeah. I really fucking do.”

“Susie, why can’t you just leave things be?” Ralsei protested.

“I wanna know!” Lancer added, helpful as ever. He was still clinging to my leg, as though the lava--which was now melting to steamy water--would jump out and grab him. 

He was such a kid sometimes.

It made me wonder if this was how Underground Undyne felt about this Papyrus person; an innocent kid who really looked up to someone who didn’t deserve it.

“Y’know what, Susie?” Underground Undyne said finally.

“What.” It wasn’t a question.

“I like you. You...probably should watch what you say, but...I know where you’re coming from. And I can tell you care about that human a lot.”

I tightened my grip on Kris’ shoulder, earning a yelp in response. 

“Claws,” they muttered.

“So what do you say...we catch a drink or two and...I tell you about my job and what I’m doing here? I don’t want to make an enemy of you, especially with...why you’re here, y’know?” She held out her hand. “Truce?”

I stared at her hand. “Promise me something, Undyne.”

“Anything.”

I narrowed my eyes. “Promise me you’ll never lay a  _ fucking finger _ on Kris.”

Her good eye met mine. “I promise. I would never hurt them.”

I relaxed my grip on their shoulder. “Okay.” And with my free hand, I took hers. “Truce. But you’re buying.”

She tightened her grip on my hand and shook it. “Of course. Besides, I’m a regular hero around here. I get a discount!”

“You get a discount for killing humans?”

“Susie!” Ralsei squeaked.

Underground Undyne hummed. “Y’know, when you put it that way…”

“What way? Putting it honestly?”

“Susie! She’s the Captain of the Royal Guard. She’ll kill you if you don’t shut your mouth!” Ralsei was quivering.

Lancer laughed, a wheeze in the undertones I knew he got from me. “Undyne won’t kill Susie! She just said she likes her!”

Underground Undyne reached around me and petted Lancer’s head. “The fuzzy kid’s right. Susie is free to her honesty. Besides, the better we know each other, the more trustworthy of warriors in arms we can be!”

“We’ve arrived,” the ferryperson announced as the boat slowed. “Stay warm. I know I didn’t wear enough pairs of pants today.”

It was then the cold air had hit me, and I clutched my arms and shivered. How had I not noticed it getting colder earlier?

We all hopped out of the boat, Underground Undyne giving the ferryperson a salute as she leaped into the snow. 

Hometown Undyne and I stuck behind for a bit, watching Lancer throw a snowball at Ralsei, knocking his Hat of Shadows off and earning a yelp. 

“Looking past my bias,” Hometown Undyne offered, “because she is another universe me, y’know. I can’t say I can call someone who kills humans a ‘trustworthy warrior.’”

“Me, neither,” I agreed. “But I wanna hear what she has to say.”

Hometown Undyne nodded. “Me, too. It’s just...weird. This universe sure is different…”


	21. I Force-Feed My Best Friend Cheese Fries

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Susie shows a softer side in the only way she knows how.
> 
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**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Double upload today! It took me a while to get through commissions, but I should be back in the swing of things now! The double upload includes Patrons, too, so if you wanna read two more chapters, head on over there!
> 
> OFC is in the process of becoming a webcomic, and soon, its own original work! We have a double upload today for public and Patrons alike, and then I’ll be working on concept writing and art for the original, steampunk gothic universe OFC will be come, as well as the Deltarune fancomic. 
> 
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Grillby’s definitely had good cheese fries.

It could’ve just been how hungry I was, with all the excitement that had been going on, as well as general anxiety making me feel like I hadn’t eaten in ages. But this gave the diner back at home a run for its money. Within seconds of the scorching-hot food being presented in front of me, I found myself with fistfuls of fries in either hand, devouring all in my sight like the beast the Dark World would always see me as.

Ralsei took dainty bites of his cheese fries with a knife and fork. He ate too slowly, so I stole a few of his chili beans on the side.

Kris didn’t eat anything at first, so I yelled at the fire monster behind the bar to bring me another plate of cheese fries. They’d  _ have _ to eat if I forced them.

“I’m just not hungry,” Kris said, keeping their voice low and their face covered in hair as they twirled spaghetti noodles with their fork.

Underground Undyne didn’t seem too hungry, either, watching Kris and me intently with her one good eye.

“You really do care for the human,” she said finally. There was something odd in her voice, something strained, like before someone was either about to flip a table or burst into tears. Or both.

“Of course I do!” I snarled, my voice coming out much more aggressive than I intended.

Kris nudged me with their shoe.

“I mean,” I added hastily, “Yeah, they’re my best friend.”

“Hey!” Lancer interjected.

I waved a cheese-covered hand at him before licking my fingers clean. “You’re like, my adopted son. Or wannabe delinquent brother.”

His eyes lit up. “That’s even  _ better! _ ” Satisfied, he unhinged his jaw around his triple cheeseburger.

I turned back to Underground Undyne. “What’s your deal with humans, anyway? You seem to get your panties in a twist whenever they’re around. You a racist?” I shoved another faceful of fries in my mouth before forcing another in Kris, who waved their hands in protest, but seemed to enjoy the food once it was in their mouth.

Undyne sighed and set down her fork. “No. I want to like humans. I’ve seen their history, from what Alphys has shown me, and it’s pretty badass, with your giant swords and magical princesses.”

I quirked an eyebrow. “Kris, do you know anything about this?”

Kris shook their head and stole one of my fries, so I put the plate in front of them. The little nerd seemed comforted by me feeding them. Or maybe it was that I was defending them.

“But before I get into my job, like I promised, I said I’d buy you a drink.”

“You better buy me one, too,” Hometown Undyne said from behind me, parking her head on mine. “I don’t know how I’m gonna survive all this without a damn drink.”

“Fair. Y’all like whiskey?”

“Seems somber enough for the situation, but ordinarily, no.” Hometown Undyne pulled up a stool beside me, forcing Ralsei over. 

“Yeah, me neither,” Underground Undyne chuckled. “It’s just what most people around here want. Let’s do gin and tonics.”

I nodded and swallowed a lump in my throat for what felt like the thousandth time today. Gin reminded me of Noelle. It tasted like Christmas. But perhaps drinking gin around new people would burn away her taste and introduce something different. One could only hope.

As we waited for the drinks, I noticed Kris picking at their food again.

“You okay?”

Kris nodded. “Anxious,” they managed.

“Do you want a drink?”

Kris nodded more, dipping their head down closer to their plate, as though they’d disappear beneath their sweater and hair.

“Rum hot cocoa?” It was weird, but it was the only alcoholic mix I’d ever seen them have. Honestly, if I had the tolerance, I’d have one with them, but since Underground Undyne was buying, I didn’t want to be picky.

Kris gave me an affirmative pat on the knee. It appeared as though their anxiety was making speech hard again, which was something they really struggled with, so I ordered it for them.

Once all the drinks had arrived, Underground Undyne’s good eye appeared downcast and somber. The rest of us had all gingerly sipped our vices, but she merely stared at the sparkling liquid before she eventually spoke.

“A long time ago, before my lifetime, we monsters used to live with humans. But a war broke out between the races, and with how powerful human Souls are, we ended up being forced to live underground, where we are now. Seven of humanity’s strongest magicians created a barrier to keep us down here, dividing the Underground and the Surface World, and the only thing that can break the seal is seven human souls and one monster soul. So we’ve been trapped.

“After we were forced away from humanity and to live underground, a child fell down here. After all, humans can freely enter the barrier, since humanity created it in the first place...but they can’t leave. So the king--Asgore--and his then-wife--adopted the child as their own, raising them with their son, Asriel. The human got really sick and...with us all being monsters, we didn’t know how to cure them. Their dying wish was to be brought to the surface to see their village for the last time, so Asriel carried them up there, where they died. The humans thought Asriel had killed the human, and they attacked him until he stumbled into the underground, dying. 

“King Asriel declared war on humanity then. Every human that falls down here must die, in order to shatter the barrier and kill off humanity for what they’ve done to our people for centuries.” Underground Undyne finally took a drink then, her knuckles white as she clenched her glass.

“So...you  _ are _ killing humans.”

Undyne nodded, but her face was away from mine, rendering her expression unreadable. 

“How many Souls...do you have?” Hometown Undyne asked.

“Six.”

I grasped Kris’ shoulder, making them jump. “If you kill Kris for your stupid border project, I swear--”

“I’m not gonna take Kris. Besides, they’re like a son to Asgore. But the next human who falls down here…” Underground Undyne took a mournful drink.

The rest of us drank in silence. Kris gave my hand an affirmative pat, a thank you for my defense.

Eventually, after the room began to spin a bit with my drink, I said, “I get it, y’know.”

“You...you do?” Underground Undyne asked, swiveling her chair around.

“Well, yeah. It’s war. War fucking sucks. There’s no right side or wrong side. And either way, people are gonna die. That’s what warriors do, right? They fight wars.”

Undyne chuckled softly. “To put it gently, yeah.”

“What happened to the queen?” Hometown Undyne asked.

“Huh?”

“The queen. You mentioned the ‘then queen.’ What happened?”

Underground Undyne shrugged. “Hell if I know. No one does. Not even Asgore. And if he  _ does _ know, he’s not spilling. Some say she killed herself after losing both of her children. Others say she went into hiding. All I know is there’s a white sheet covering her throne in the throne room.”

An awkward silence filled our group, and then the entire bar. 

“Well,” I said, breaking the silence, “I’m gonna go out and have a smoke. Anyone wanna come with me?”

“I do!” Lancer cheered, wiping off his furry face with a napkin and hopping down from his stool.

“No!” Ralsei protested, grasping the kid by the collar of his shirt. “You’re underage!”

“But--”

“No!”

“I’ll go,” Hometown Undyne said finally. “C’mon.”

Side by side, the two of us left the bar. 

I offered her a cigarette, but she waved it away. “I don’t smoke. Unless you’re offering weed.”

“Nah. After we’re done at Asgore’s place, though. But if you aren’t smoking, why are you here?”

Hometown Undyne leaned against the side of the building. “Just...wanted to check on you. I hope that’s not weird. Is that weird?”

“Nah. It’s about time someone decided to.” I took a thoughtful drag. 

“What do you...think of all of this?”

I shrugged. “I dunno. Sounds like a shitty war that won’t matter when the Time Being comes and destroys everything.”

She made a strange choking sound, then burst out laughing. “I thought you’d say that!”

“What’s so funny?”

“Oh...you’re just so...to the point!” She composed herself, wiping a tear from her eye. 

“That’s why we’re here, though. Not to help this war. We kinda gotta deal with, y’know, the whole universe falling apart first.” I quirked an eyebrow. “Does the other Undyne know about all of that?”

“She seems to. She was hanging out with Ralsei, so I’m sure she was filled in. Either that, or Alphys told her.”

I tried to imagine Alphys stuttering through her explanation of the entire multiverse concept to Undyne and shook my head. “Probably Ralsei. She’s hopeless.”

“Fair enough.”

“Here’s my question, though.” I took another drag. “If there’s multiple Undynes, which one is Life?”

“I think we all are. We’re all the same person.”

“So who will I be fighting the Time Being with?”

Undyne toed the snow. “I’m guessing...whoever survives.”


	22. Lancer Tries His Best

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Honestly, title says it all.
> 
> [[The Other Face of the Coin chapter/cross-site posting masterlist!](https://spookysu.carrd.co/#deltarune)]
> 
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> 
> [[Join my Discord server!](https://discord.gg/U5RwYNm)]

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm alive!!!!! Kinda. I've been dealing with a lot of work stress, carpal tunnel, and life has been pretty chaotic, which you've probably seen if you follow my Twitter (which I update all the time). 
> 
> -I got married! I took some time away from writing just to focus on my wife. We had already been functionally married for years, but this made it legal and official.
> 
> -I got notice that my mother is dying. Things are really complicated with my relationship with her, but the new knowledge of this is like...eating at me, I guess? It's been harder to write and do things. Grief is weird.
> 
> -Work is A Thing that I do. This isn't my full time job, so sometimes work gets a bit wild and I'm not present to write as much. 
> 
> Anyway! Here's my regular social media dump!  
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I decided that, in our short time together, one of my favorite things about Undyne was the fact that she was respectful of silence. Quiet people always pissed me off, though I was a quiet person myself, but it was more of the disregard for direct communication. I didn’t like people who didn’t speak to me directly, and Undyne never had this problem. There was a good balance between us enjoying the silence and not mincing words, and it made her very easy to get along with, especially with the circumstances.

I needed to be with someone who could allow me my due introspection. 

Not that I hated Lancer; I was really relieved that someone as upbeat and oblivious as him could tag along. But a child like Lancer couldn’t really understand why I’d need to withdraw temporarily. And I adored Ralsei and Kris, obviously, but Ralsei had the tendency to pry too much or be a bit too affectionate, which I found borderline overstimulating in large doses, and Kris was sometimes too aloof. 

Undyne had the perfect balance, and was therefore the best person to smoke with, even if she didn’t smoke herself. I could simultaneously be alone and be reminded that I’m not alone, and it’s exactly what I needed.

We leaned against the wall of Grillby’s together, watching the snow fall and the monster children create snow monsters. Despite how cold it was, I did enjoy watching it, though I wasn’t sure how snow was falling underground. 

“Susie! SUSIE!  _ SUSIE _ !”

“Oh my god,” I muttered, tossing the cigarette butt aside.

Undyne sighed and picked it up and put it in an ashtray, muttering about littering.

I ignored her. It wasn’t like there would be a planet to save anyway. “What’s up, Lancer? What are you doing out here?”

“I found a really cool thing!” I heard his boots crunching rapidly on the snow as he ran toward us. 

Even all these years later, he was still such a child.

He came from the opposite direction of Grillby’s, though, which confused me for about half a second until I remembered that this was Lancer and he had a way of doing that.

“I found a coin in the snow!” He flipped it toward me with his thumb, tossing it back into the snow. “Darn it…you were supposed to catch it.”

“Oh.” I picked it up and studied the shiny metal. The side I was scrutinizing depicted horned monster with dangerous looking teeth and lots of hair. Behind her were floating orbs of some sort as she stood upon a pile of skulls. On her shoulder was an axe.

A very familiar axe.

My stomach growled, though I wasn’t sure why. Nausea at recognizing my Dark World weapon?

I turned the coin over, expecting to see a stamp or a date or something, but instead, I saw an underwater monster, ushering similarly-shaped orbs to the surface of the water. In her hands were spears.

My mouth felt dry. “Where did you...find this?”

“In the snow. You’re on a coin, Susie!”

“Obviously. But...why?”

“What’s wrong?” Undyne peered over my shoulder at the coin. “Is that...me?”

“Yeah!” Lancer cheered. “And Susie is on the other side!”

“Lemme see that.” Undyne took the coin away from me and analyzed it, holding it in varying positions and turning it in the gentle light. “These must be...our previous incarnations, y’know?” Undyne’s eyes lit up. “This is fucking  _ rad _ , Susie! Concrete evidence of the goddesses we were on a fucking  _ coin _ of this world!”

I crossed my arms “I...don’t like it.”

“What? Why? You’re famous! People  _ love _ you! Love  _ us _ !”

“I’m not a goddess or a hero or anything these stupid prophecies make me. I’m just a stupid delinquent. The worst mistake Noelle ever made. The foster kid no one wanted. The…” I almost went off to a further tangent, but I held my tongue.

I wanted to say more, but Lancer wouldn’t be my friend anymore, or try to emulate me or bring me cool presents. And I couldn’t enjoy Undyne’s understanding silence any longer.

Something I had learned in my short, miserable life was that there was no one in the world who would love every single dark corner of who you are.

Not even yourself.

“Dude, are you okay?” Undyne asked, brushing her hand on my arm.

I shrugged. “Probably not.”

“Is there anything I can do?”

“I know what to do!” Lancer slid from foot to foot, sort of like a child who really had to pee. “She gets like this when she’s hungry.”

My stomach growled again.

“See?”

Undyne furrowed her brows. “But you just ate. A lot.”

“Susie’s always hungry. That’s why she’s so grumpy! I think she’s hungry for something this world doesn’t have, but that’s okay. I’ll just feed her donuts until she feels a little bit okay.”

I gave him a little smile. No one had ever paid attention to my insatiable hunger before, aside from passing jokes about me eating food that absolutely  _ wasn’t _ food.

But if only he really knew what I was craving…

The strange, flashback feeling returned to my ears, and it made my eyes water a bit. 

_ What happened to my nice girl? _

Fuck.

“I need to, um. Go.”

“Where are you going, Susie?” Lancer asked, tugging on my sleeve, though he was now much taller than me. “If you need food, I can get it for you!”

“I just need uh…”

“If you need a minute, it’s okay, but I don’t want to leave you behind.” Undyne’s careful, bright gaze studied me carefully, reading every inch of stress on my face. 

I grabbed another cigarette. “It’s cool. I can keep it together.”

I wasn’t honestly sure if I could, but I didn’t want to remember. I hadn’t been...like that in so long, it was better to just bury it. Bury the memories of what I was beneath pinecones and chalk and too many donuts, deep into the bottomless pit I was.

_ When I fostered you, I wanted a nice, good girl.  _

_ Shut up _ , I told the memory with an inhale of carcinogens. 

“I’ll...I’ll get you some food!” Lancer said, sliding through the doors of Grillby’s without bothering to turn and see where he was going. 

I didn’t say anything. I felt like I was gonna cry. It was better to feel the burn of smoke in my throat than the swelling of tears, especially in front of Lancer and Undyne. I wasn’t normally so weak, and I hated this feeling.

Undyne put an arm around me but said nothing, and I leaned against her touch. I liked that she didn’t ask about my personal struggles before I was ready, but the aching in my stomach had the gnawing sensation, the hunch that she’d soon find out.

So we continued watching the snow fall as I smothered my demons in smoke. 

I wasn’t sure how I could tell that time was passing, for there was no sky, yet somehow, it looked as though a sun was setting. Did the monsters have their own magical, artificial sun? With the orangey glow on the snow, the underground really appeared to have one. 

Lancer came back from another direction then, carrying a box of donuts (“Some for Susie, and others for King Asgore! My dad always told me to be respectful of other monarchs!”). Kris, Ralsei, and the other Undyne soon followed.

“Do you wanna prove Asgore right and be late, or come with us?” Underground Undyne asked, giving me a sharp pat on the back. 

“I’ll follow y’all,” I said, taking a donut from Lancer. “It’s not like I know where I’m going.”

“I never know where I’m going!” Lancer announced. “I just end up places!”

“That sounds about right,” Kris noted. 

I jumped a bit at the sound of their voice, not expecting them to talk, since they so rarely did. I also noticed their teeth were chattering a bit.

Ralsei took off his scarf and wrapped it around Kris. “Are we ready?”

“No time like the present!” Hometown Undyne said, removing her arm from my shoulders and gesturing me to follow.

So I did. 

And I gave Lancer half of my donut for his troubles.

He lifted his shirt and fed the donut to his tummy-mouth.

I made retching sounds, which made him laugh.

But as we trekked through the snow, I found myself falling behind the path of chattering people. 

_ What happened to my nice girl? _

Why was the urge, the hunger, back? Perhaps traveling to other dimensions only added to my hunger. It was probably pretty strenuous on my body and Soul, after all.

But I couldn’t.

Never again.

I’d prove them wrong.

 


End file.
